Broken
by Trevor the Enchanter
Summary: At the age of 16, Vlad, Maddie, and Jack live semi-normal lives... until someone attacks Maddie.
1. Attack

After what seemed like a eternity, the bell finally rang and 16-year-old Vlad Masters couldn't be happier. He sped out of the school, backpack and all, and started walking home.

"Hey, Vlad, did you understand any of that?" Jack Fenton asked, who was walking beside him.

"Yes, Jack, I did." Vlad rolled his eyes. "Let me guess: you weren't paying attention. Drawing anti-ghost devices again?"

"Yep! One day, this will become reality!" Jack smiled. "That, and Alyssa was sitting in front on me. Damn, that girl is hot!"

_And a bitch. _Vlad thought to himself. But he couldn't bring himself to shake Jack out of his romantic daydreams. "Well, I'm sure you'll be able to win her over." _Like you do with everyone else, Mr. Football Star._

"Thanks, V-man. Hey, I'll see if I can get one of her friends to go out with you!"

"No, buddy. I am not going on a date, especially not one that you set up. Remember what happened last time?"

"Come on, it couldn't have hurt that much!"

"You call getting kneed in the groin not very painful? How would it feel if I did the same to you?"

Jack winced. "Point taken, V-man. Still, least we got a whole weekend to mess around. Your parents are still on their business trip, right?"

"Yeah, for the next few days. Least they left some money and food this time around."

"Come on, buddy, cheer up. Besides, I'm sure Maddie will be around as well." The thought made him smile, the first genuine one of the day. He and Maddie Stevens had been friends ever since first grade, where she defended him from a boy forced his face into the mud. "You're lucky to have a girl like that."

"Oh, no. I don't like this idea." Truth be told, Vlad had a small crush on Maddie, though it wasn't anything major. He knew Jack was going to try and play matchmaker again. He meant well, but it almost always ended in disaster.

"You know you want my help; admit it!"

"No, and don't ignore me again." They had finally arrived at Vlad's house, which was the nicest on the block. His parents were quite wealthy and they had much to entertain themselves. Vlad quickly found the chessboard and they started a game. Vlad picked black and Jack white. Jack liked to joke that Vlad was pure evil, but really, he just preferred to have his opponent make the first move.

It was somewhat boring for a while, since both of them knew the game and were setting up their pieces for the offensive. "So where is Maddie?" Vlad asked. "She should be here by now."

"I'm sure she'll show up." Jack smiled, taking a rook with his knight. "Check." Vlad moved his king out of the way, and used a pawn to capture another. That wouldn't have mattered much, except it let him take Jack's Bishop with no way for him to avenge it. The game went on, and after a few minutes, it was like a machine gun had raked the board. Vlad avoided a potential trap for his queen, and put Jack in check, forcing him to sacrifice his last rook.

"Seriously, Jack, what is going on?" Vlad asked. "She's never this late." He moved one of his last 2 pawns to take Jack's last bishop, although he had to sacrifice one of his knights. Pretty soon, very few pieces were left, and Vlad was moving on Jack's queen. Jack had no other pieces save for a couple of pawns, and a knight, so there was little he could do. That is, until Vlad made a mistake and lost his queen. "Damn, why didn't I see that coming?"

"Because I'm going to kick your butt." Jack bragged. The game went on for a while longer until Vlad used his knight and rook to checkmate Jack's king.

"The winner and still champion!" Vlad laughed, doing a victory dance.

"Hold on, hold on, this is not checkmate." Jack protested.

"Care to try again, Jack?" Vlad chuckled.

"Get back here; this is not checkmate! This isn't checkmate! Damn, checkmate!"

"Hey, at least you put up a fight. Work on your offense and you might even beat me once in a while. Emphasis on might…" Vlad was the best chess player in the school and was proud of it. He had been playing for 6 years, and while he wasn't a master, he was quite skilled.

"Oh, I'll beat you one of these days!"

"You've said that for months and it hasn't happened. You must be a glutton for punishment…or just a glutton." On that note, Jack went into the kitchen and raided the fridge. He grabbed a can of Pepsi, chicken wings, and a slice of pizza, gulping it down in less than 5 minutes. The house had 3 easy chairs, a large couch and a giant television. Both of them sprawled out and relaxed.

"Jack, I'd say you eat like a pig, but pigs chew more than you do. You eat more like a duck or something."

"Hey, I just enjoy my food. So where's your fudge?"

"We're out of fudge right now. Look, Jack, where is Maddie? Stop stalling and just tell me."

"Okay, fine. The guy she licks finally agreed to go out with her and she's getting ready. Maddie's pretty nervous about this, so she's going over everything you can think of."

"Women: can't live with them, can't build robots to do your housework."

Jack laughed loudly. "Don't let Maddie hear you say that! She'll probably kill you, and you'd have it coming."

"Yeah, I know, but she doesn't need to know, does she?" After eating, the friends played a couple more games of chess, which Vlad won, although by the skin of his teeth.

"Hey, Jack, I have to tell you something."

"What is it, V-man?"

"Did you hear those…rumors that were going around about me?"

"No, actually, I haven't. Course, I skipped football practice today, so that doesn't mean much. Sure, the coach will be mad, but I'm the only one who can get us to the playoffs!"

"They said that I harassed that girl Samantha. You know, the one I had a crush on for a while."

"Yeah, I remember her."

_And she fell for you, of course. _Vlad sighed. He tried not to be angry with Jack, since he wasn't to blame, but it wasn't an easy thing to do. "Well, there are people that are saying I annoyed her, so to speak."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Okay, fine. She's accusing me of harassing her…in a certain way. Jeez, all I said was that I thought she was attractive!"

"How did you say it?"

"When we were talking, I said she looked nice. She just nodded and backed away. I found out she accused me and now the school's threatening to expel me."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Vlad. All of this will blow over."

"For you, maybe! I'm different than normal people, which frightens them! Hell, I see people do a lot worse every day. The girls either giggle or at most, just roll their eyes and walk away. I try to give a compliment, and they go crazy; I'm sick of it!"

"Vlad, she's just stupid if she doesn't see how great you truly are."

"Never knew you had a sentimental side. Can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks for being here for me. Remember, if you tell anyone else we had this conversation, I'm going to kill you."

"How many times have you said that?"

"40 or so; I lost count."

"Hey, V-man, where are those magazines your dad was reading? They were rather…interesting."

"Do you think of anything else besides women and sports?"

"There's more to think about?" Jack chuckled, went to the kitchen and got them both a can of soda.

"Not the way you talk." After another hour or so, Jack eventually went home, leaving Vlad by himself. He curled up on the couch, reading "Congo". He was about halfway through the book, when it started getting interesting. He heard a knock on the door, sighed, and set his book down. When he opened it, he saw Maddie.

"Hey, Maddie, I was wondering where you were!" Vlad smiled. "Come on in!" he closed the door behind her. "So what have you been up to? Well, me and Jack played chess and of course, I kicked his butt. Got to give him credit for trying, though."

Vlad stopped when he realized that something was wrong. Maddie hadn't said anything to him. He took a good look at her and saw something off, although he didn't know what it was. "Maddie, what is it?"

"What do you want to do, Vlad?" Maddie asked, bowing her head.

"That doesn't matter; what's wrong? We've been friends for 10 years, Maddie. You can tell me anything."

"It doesn't really matter, Vlad. I think I'm just going to go home."

"Maddie, just tell me; I'm worried about you. What happened? Those stupid bitches calling you a slut again?" On some level, Vlad understood it was something worse than that. The rumors often bothered her, but to see her like this…

"No, Vlad, it's nothing. You'll just tell me I'm being stupid."

"Maddie, I'd never say that. Now sit down and tell me. What happened to you?"

"Just don't call me weak, please."

"You're the strongest person I know, Maddie." Vlad was starting to have a very bad feeling about this.

"I've been lying to you guys. I've been seeing him for a couple of months now. We had a good time and he offered to drive me home. I accepted, except he went the wrong way. I…told him and he stopped in the middle of the woods. I wanted out, only he wouldn't let me. He started grabbing at me, and I demanded he stop."

"Then what?" Vlad knew, but needed to hear it from Maddie.

"he backhanded me, and threw me into the back seat. I tried to fight him, but I couldn't. He forced me down…and raped me." She couldn't take it anymore and started crying.

Vlad pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her, only to get elbowed in the gut. "No, don't touch me! No!" Maddie curled up into a ball and cried silently, Vlad not knowing what to do.

_Of course she elbowed you; she's just been violated and probably doesn't want to be touched right now. _Vlad berated himself. He simply stared as Maddie as she continued. _What do I do? I don't want to make this worse. _

He simply sat there for an unknown amount of time while Maddie cried herself out. "I'm sorry, Vlad. God, I'm so pathetic; you probably won't even want to be near me again."

"Maddie, don't say that. I'd never want to abandon you. Who did this to you?"

"No, Vlad, it doesn't matter. No one's going to care, anyway." Vlad saw a handkerchief in her pocket and pulled it out. It was soaked in blood and he threw it down in horror. "Just go away; you don't want to be here."

"Look, Maddie, I'm not leaving you like this, any more than you would leave me. Look, I suggest we go to the police."

"No, Vlad; I don't want to. Besides, I probably asked for this, anyway. I was attracted to him; I could have fought harder. I could have screamed for help."

"This isn't your fault, maddie, it's his, no one else." he grabbed her hand and wrapped both of his around it. She flinched and looked away, but didn't yank it out of his grip.

"_Go right ahead; blab. No one's going to believe you, slut. Besides, you wanted this to happen to you, anyway." _Maddie pulled her hand away, looking at Vlad with haunted eyes. "No one's going to care; why should you? Don't you have better things to do than talk with your whore of a friend?"

"Don't say that, not ever. You're my friend and I'm sticking by you. Don't ask me to abandon you, because I'm not going to."

"Thanks, Vlad. I still think you should, though. This is my problem, not yours. I've got to deal with this alone."

"No, Maddie, you don't. Again, who did this to you? He deserves to suffer for what he did; what's his name?"

"All right, I'll tell you. His name is Ken, and I've been dating him for a while. Why did this have to happen to me?"

"I don't know, Maddie, but you didn't deserve this. You're a wonderful person and I'm glad to be your friend."

"Sure, Vlad, whatever you say." She turned around and didn't talk to him again. Vlad simply stared at her, processing all of this through his brain. How could anyone do something like this to Maddie?

After a while, he touched Maddie lightly on the shoulder, hoping he didn't make a big mistake. She didn't respond and he heard some light snoring. _She's asleep, then. I better get her a blanket if she's staying the night. _He grabbed the first one he saw and covered her up to her waist.

He knew he should be focusing on his schoolwork, but somehow, that didn't seem very important anymore. Vlad sat down on the chair and simply watched silently. His thoughts went back to the many times he had been mistreated at school, to the point where it was almost a daily occurrence. _Stop thinking about yourself, you piece of shit! Maddie needs you and you're thinking about your problems; pathetic! _

Maddie's sleep was very fitful. She moved around on the couch, making noises and sweating profusely. She moaned "No, stop" and it broke Vlad's heart to watch. He wanted to hug her, try to comfort her, but realized that it wasn't a good idea right now. He took the blanket off and set it at her feet.

He spent a long time pacing around his house, lost in his thoughts. Vlad turned off all the lights, except for the one in the living room and sat down once again, not wanting Maddie to get hurt.

_Life really is cruel to you, Maddie. _Vlad sighed to himself. _It isn't kind to me, but it's even worse to you. _He knew that he and Jack were probably the only support she really had in her life, and out of them, Vlad was the one she usually turned to. Jack meant her, but couldn't relate to her the way Vlad could. Both of them were in similar situations and could understand one another.

_What do we do now? _Vlad wanted to help her, more than anything, but didn't really know how to do so.

So what did you think of it? Hopefully, I got the reactions accurate, since I know this is a sensitive issue to some.

To be honest, it's affected me personally. I wasn't the one raped, but it was someone close to me, and it breaks my heart that someone could do that to her, so this isn't an easy thing to write. And no, I am not going to tell you who I'm referring to. In a way, it affected me more than it did her, strange as that may sound.

I first got the idea for this kind of story when I had a horrible nightmare a few months ago, and not the usual kind. In the dream, I was wandering around, when I saw this person running towards me, begging for my help. There was someone after her. I tried to defend her, to protect her, and I failed. It may have only been a dream, but it wasn't easy to deal with. And this was only a few days before I found out what had happened to her.

I decided to make it someone she was dating, someone she was familiar with, because that's who most rapes are committed by, despite the popular stereotype of it being a stranger. In fact, that is barely 2 percent.

In addition, since most of the time the victim is Sam in fan fiction, I wanted to make it someone else. Since no one has used Maddie before, I decided to make her the one. Have to admit, with the guy who hurt her, I don't want to kill him. I want to injure him in a way that he suffers horrible pain forever. Death is too merciful, far as I'm concerned.

Hopefully, you aren't too bored with my monologue. As always, please review. It only takes a few minutes of your time and it motivates me to keep writing. Thank you!


	2. Aftermath

Okay, this story is going to be relatively short, since I don't update very well when my stories get longer. You'd think I'd learn my lesson, but I suppose not. I was hoping to update sooner, but the internet on my computer is down for some reason, which means I have to fight my sister for hers. Believe me, she can spend all day on IM with her friends.

Vlad groaned as he got up from the chair. He didn't even remember falling asleep, but he apparently did. He didn't see Maddie on the couch, so he decided to look for her, while getting ready for school, little as he looked forward to it. He heard a dull sound, which rang in his ears.

_7:30; I've got only 20 minutes to get ready!_ Vlad exclaimed to himself. He made himself a hasty breakfast, changed his shirt and realized that his homework wasn't done. Nothing I can do about it now. Besides, Maddie's more important. Where is she, anyway?

He looked through every room in his large house, trying to find her, with the sound still echoing through his ears. He opened the bathroom door, and saw the shower running, with Maddie beneath it, curled up into a ball. Vlad knew she was probably crying, but couldn't tell since she was soaking wet. "Maddie?" he asked, trying to get her attention and ignore the awkwardness of the situation. "Maddie?"

She looked up for a couple seconds and immediately turned away. Vlad turned off the shower head, getting his shirt wet in the process, and handing her a towel. He draped it over her shoulders, covering her up. _Damn, she looks great, especially her…focus, Vlad!_

"Maddie, are you there?" he asked again.

"Hello, Vlad." she said softly, sniffing. "Sorry I woke you up."

"Maddie, it doesn't matter." Vlad replied. "Besides, I needed to get ready for school." He knew she was in no shape to go today. Besides, he could imagine the rumors that were flying around. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if this news had already gotten around, as gossip often did. "You want me to stay?"

"No, Vlad, just go. I'll be fine."

"How long have you been here?"

"I…I don't know. I woke up a couple hours ago, tried to eat and threw up and then…"

"You've been here a couple of hours? Sorry, Maddie, I'm not leaving you by yourself." I don't want you to do anything crazy.

"Vlad, you'll get in trouble if you miss school. Just go."

"No, Maddie. You need my help and I'm not about to abandon you." He kneeled beside her and looked into her eyes. It took a long time for her to respond. "I'll be back soon, ok?" he kissed her on the cheek. She screamed and shoved him down, trying to get away from him.

_Don't you ever learn?_ He berated himself. _Apparently not!_ Still unsure, he started walking to school, hoping Maddie would be all right. Only then did he realize that her stepparents had not been notified. Personally, Vlad thought they were just a pair of idiots, but at least they cared about her, unlike her real parents. Vlad still remember vividly what he and Jack had to do to get her away from them. They were currently serving a long prison sentence.

He barely noticed when he arrived at school, late. He didn't see anyone around the hallways, so he figured that they were already in class. Vlad groaned as he walked to the office to get a tardy slip and then went to class. Gee, this is going to keep people from skipping. 3 of these and I get a one-hour detention; how horrible!

He walked into Algebra and handed it to his teacher. She simply nodded and told him to sit. Vlad couldn't pay attention, though. His mind kept wandering towards Maddie and what happened to her. Ok, it's someone at this school named Ken. Wish I knew his last name, but oh, well. When I get my hands on him…

Then something else came to mind: Jack didn't know anything about this. Vlad wasn't sure whether or not to tell him. He was lost in his thoughts for the whole class period and the next one after that, which was Biology. During break, he looked for Jack, only to end up tackled by him.

"Good to see you, V-man!" Jack exclaimed. "I have some good news: finally found a girl to go out with you, and believe me, she's hot!"

"Jack, I really don't care right now." Vlad sighed. "I have something much more important to worry about."

"Is this about that test in history we have next week?" Jack declared. "Don't worry; you'll ace it! Speaking of which, can you come over and help me study? There are a lot of things I really don't understand."

"I can't, Jack. There are other things I have to deal with." Vlad took a deep breath and tried not to cry. _Be strong, Masters, be strong._

"What's wrong, V-man? The football players picking on you again? I guess I'm going to have to talk with them…" He rolled his hands into fists and was about to stomp off when Vlad grabbed his shoulder.

"No, Jack, it's not me. Look, can we talk somewhere that no one's going to overhear us? And believe me, if you blab a word about this, I will kill you."

"I'm not going to; what makes you say such a thing?" That, more than anything else, convinced Jack that Vlad was serious. They walked through the corridors, while endless people either waved to Jack or tried flirting with him. Finally, when they got to the football field, they were alone.

"Look, Jack, something happened last night." Vlad sighed. "This really isn't easy to say, but…Maddie was raped by her boyfriend."

"She was raped?" Jack screamed.

"Shut up; you want to tell everyone?" Vlad demanded. "Look, do not spread this around. It's some guy named Ken; you have any idea who he is?"

"Hmm, I think there's a Ken in a couple of my classes. Any idea what his last name is?"

"I wish I knew, but Maddie's in pretty bad shape. She was barely able to tell me what he did."

"Well, when I get my hands on him, he's going to beg for death by the time I'm done with him."

"Sounds like a plan, but we've got to look after Maddie as well. She wasn't able to go to school. Probably shouldn't have left her, but I don't really know how to help."

"Sigh, hasn't she been through enough?" The bell rang, but neither of them gave any indication that they heard. "With the way we had to rescue her from her real parents and now this…"

"I don't know what to say; I wish I did. She's been through so much, I hope she doesn't do anything crazy like try to kill herself."

"Oh, hell, no! where is she, Vlad?!"

"She's at my house right now. When I left, she was showering, probably trying to get the feel of him off her." I've read some things about rape, but it's not even close to describing what it's like when it happens to someone you care about.

"Come on; we're going back there! Why the hell did you leave her there? What kind of friend are you?"

"Shut up, Jack! I don't know what to do in these kinds of situations, any more than you do!" Jack sped off towards Vlad's home. For the normally clumsy young man, he moved very fast, and Vlad struggled to keep up. He panted heavily, school long forgotten.

Before long, they managed to get to Vlad's house. Jack nearly broke the door down in the process of opening it. "Maddie, where are you?" Jack exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"Quiet, Jack!" Vlad snapped. "Yelling like that is only going to frighten her." The two friends tore the house apart.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

Maddie looked at her reflection in the mirror of the master bedroom. Her face was soaked with tears and she barely had the energy to stand. She held a steak knife in her hand, pressing it against her arm, but hadn't yet started anything.

_You're weak, Maddie._ She screamed at herself. _Why didn't you fight harder? Why didn't you run? Did I really want this to happen to me?_ She spent almost 3 hours showering and washing her mouth out. She remembered how he forced her on her knees even so. Maddie broke out crying again, punching the mirror.

She hissed in pain, but didn't feel much. Blood was dripping onto the carpet, along with shards of glass. Vlad and Jack burst into the room, open mouthed at the glass and blood on her hand.

"Jack, get me some antiseptic and a pair of tweezers." Vlad ordered. "See if you can find some bandages too." Vlad led Maddie onto the bed as carefully as he could, sitting her down. "Maddie, why did you do that?"

"I'm a whore; I deserved it!" Maddie sobbed.

"Don't say that, not ever." Vlad replied sternly. "Look, both of us are here to support you, ok? Let's see if we can get the glass out without causing too much pain. Jack, be careful! There's glass on the floor!" Jack jumped onto the bed and poured the antiseptic on Maddie's hand. She hissed and squirmed, tears in her eyes.

Vlad took the tweezers and held her hand still. Maddie gasped and tried to pull away, screaming "Let me go!" Vlad was torn in two. He wanted to help her, but holding her was just going to frighten her more. Finally, he let go, shaking his head in frustration.

"I'll do it myself!" Maddie exclaimed. She grabbed the tweezers roughly out of Vlad's hands and ripped out the glass, screaming in pain each time. She threw the shards at the mirror and curled into a ball. Vlad and Jack looked at each other and then at her.

"Maddie, what was his last name?" Jack asked gently. Maddie whimpered and refused to answer. "I'm going to get some bandages for your hand; be back soon. Apparently Vlad's parents don't have any, least not ones that will do any good."

"Jack, why are you leaving?" Vlad asked. "I'll go; you're better at comforting people than I am."

"V-man, you can relate to her a lot more than I can. Both of you have been through more than I have. I'm sure you can help her; she needs a friend right now, ok?" Jack sped off, with Vlad scratching his head.

He looked at Maddie, who was now leaning against the wall, staring into space. "Maddie, are you there?"

"Yes, Vlad, I'm here." She replied softly. "Why does all this stuff happen to me? What did I do to deserve it?"

"Nothing, Maddie, nothing at all," Vlad stated firmly. "You're a wonderful person who's had a lot of terrible things happen to you. I'm here, and I'm not leaving. You're not a slut; you didn't ask for this." Oh, when I find this guy…

"Thanks for being here, Vlad, both of you. This is kind of an awkward request, but…can you hug me? Carefully…"

_Course; you're a beautiful girl._ Vlad thought, but knew better than to say that. Chances were that it wouldn't go over very well at the moment. He hugged her gently, ready to pull back at the slightest scream, but she simply nodded. Maddie didn't pull away or towards him; just sat there like a stone.

Vlad remembered that it wasn't the first time he had seen something like that. He had seen the same haunted eyes in one of his neighbors 5 years ago. She was the mother of a friend he had frequently visited. One day, coming there like he typically did, she had shouted at him and told him never to come near her son or she would call the police.

Being as stubborn as he was, he showed up again in the future. The door was open and he found the woman on the floor. Vlad touched her arm with her finger, and she immediately attacked him, smashing his head repeatedly with a frying pan and was dragged out of the house in handcuffs. Thankfully, his parents and gotten him out and his father explained that several people had attacked her.

At the time, Vlad had not understood that kind of reaction. Yeah, he was treated that way at school, but he didn't attack someone who never did anything. About 2 months later, her body was found in the bedroom by her son, and it turned out that she had committed suicide. He was taken to a foster home and Vlad never saw him again.

Today, though, he realized what his father had meant by attacked. Maddie was reacting the same way. _I hope she doesn't do the same thing. I really don't want to lose her._

Jack walked into the house with bandages, and holding his head with groan. "What happened to you?" Vlad asked.

"I ran into Maddie's stepfather, and he was…pretty angry." Jack hesitated. "He knows something's wrong with Maddie, and… he's blaming you, Vlad."

"Why?" Vlad demanded.

"I have no idea, but he is. He's threatening to blow your brains and threw me into a wall when I wouldn't tell him where you were. I punched him in the gut and made my getaway; locked all the doors around too. Here, Maddie." He tossed her the bandages.

Maddie wrapped the gauze around her hand, saying: "Sigh, I should have known. I haven't even called them for the past 2 days. Of course they're worried about me! Still, I'm…not sure I should tell them."

"Maddie, that's up to you." Vlad replied. "I personally think you should, but it's your life." _But that's mainly because I don't feel like getting killed by some idiot. Getting accused of something I didn't do; why does this always happen to me?_

"Okay, so what do we do when we find this guy?" Jack asked. "Ripping his head off sounds like a good idea to me."

"Believe me, I have many creative ideas." Vlad grinned.

"I know; I want revenge too, but…he took something from me, something I may never get back." Maddie replied softly.

"Your virginity?" Vlad scratched.

"No, more than that. I finally thought things were starting to look up for me. I thought that once you got me out of there, I was safe, I could live my life without worrying that something terrible would happen, except I was wrong. Sigh, how do I get that back? It seems I'm not safe anywhere. No matter where I go, no matter what I do, something seems to happen to me. I may as well just lock myself up, because something will happen otherwise. I can't take this anymore!" Maddie broke down and started crying yet again.

Jack and Vlad looked at one another, not knowing what they could say. She was right; this kind of thing always seemed to happen to her.

Yeah, kind of a lousy ending to the chapter, I admit. I plan on making this something like 5 or 6 chapters. Sigh, as for the person I know…I hope she never finds out I'm writing something like this. She'd probably accuse me of using what happened to her for my own benefit.

In a way, writing this story is like picking at a scab: painful, but it holds a strange attraction.


	3. What do you want?

Well, this is late, I know, but I had finals in college to work on. That, and I'm getting sick, but I figure I may as well send this.

It took nearly 2 weeks for Maddie to focus enough to go back to school. Both Vlad and Jack had fallen behind in their schoolwork because of their efforts helping Maddie. At this point, she could handle affection if she asked for it, but if they tried touching her without warning her, she panicked. Vlad had found out who the person was; it turned out that he was in his P.E. class. Also, for the past week, he had been suffering "Accidents" at Vlad's hands. They were suspicious, but since Vlad was naturally clumsy, they weren't able to prove anything.

Neither of them left Maddie alone, except when she went to the bathroom. In the back of his mind, Vlad thought that maybe he shouldn't treat her differently, but he couldn't help himself. _Wish this never happened to her. Hasn't she suffered enough? _Wishes did about as much good as the always did, which wasn't much. As Vlad had predicted, there were various rumors floating around. What many people were saying was that Maddie was a slut, that she slept with her boyfriend and cheated on him with about 5 other guys. Vlad rolled his eyes when he heard that kind of thing. How could anyone believe Maddie was that kind of person?

They were currently in his government class, with Vlad barely paying attention. Jack was often even worse than he was, and borrowed notes off him. Today, they were talking about the legislative branch and how it worked. Maddie wasn't in this class, and that was all Vlad could think about. "Vlad, can you tell me who the current speaker of the house is?" Mrs. Morath asked. "Uh…Thomas O'neill, I think." Vlad answered. He wasn't paying attention, but he was quite intelligent with a good memory. It was 1983 and he believed Democrats still had the majority, at least in the House. Thompson nodded, which meant he had gotten it right. "And currently, there are 272 Democrats in the house and 163 Republicans." Vlad had a tendency to show off, which did little to endear him to other people. To him, it wasn't showing off, but many had a different and lower opinion. _Damn, I was hoping this crush on Maddie would fade. Vlad thought. Didn't have a chance with her before, but now… what am I thinking? How selfish can I possibly be? My friend was raped and all I can think of is how it affects me._

"Okay, the Speaker of The House presidents over all joint sessions and meetings, except under the Tweleth Amendment." Morath lectured. Vlad tuned her out after that. Soon enough, the class was over and they had lunch. Jack and Vlad immediately looked for Maddie, who was standing at her locker like a ghost. "Maddie, what is it?" Vlad asked. "I…I saw him." She managed to gasp out. Vlad and Jack looked around furiously, but he wasn't there. "He saw me and just grinned, like we were old friends." "This just keeps getting better." Vlad muttered to himself. He wanted to simply charge after him, but knew realistically he didn't have much of a chance. The best chance would be a quick devastating attack. If it became a grapple, he was doomed. Course, next class is P.E. He'll have some more accidents. Once lunch was over, he and Jack went to P.E. Vlad hid as best he could in the showers. He always felt awkward seeing them, especially since he was frequently a target for their jokes. He showered and dressed as quickly as he could. Jack usually protected him from them, but when he was sick… Vlad's life became a nightmare.

This time, they were playing kickball. To Vlad's horror, he was on the same team as Ken. He glared furiously at his classmate, barely able to keep himself under control. Soon enough, he was up. They rolled the ball to their own teammates, and unlike baseball, there were 6 bases, not 4. He kicked as hard as he could, but the ball was caught almost immediately. His teammates glared at him furiously. (That would be my experience)

The rest of the game went the same way. Vlad only got on base once, and since he messed up when victory was up to him, he was getting death threats. "You're gonna pay for that, Vlad." Someone exclaimed angrily. "I ought to smash your head through a wall, and bash your brains in." Vlad hastily left before he could continue. "Hey, I'm talking to you, fucker!" (Yeah, people take this real seriously; I have no idea why) Vlad run before he decided to carry out his threats.

"Hey, Jack, have you seen Maddie anywhere?" Vlad wondered.

"No, I haven't. I thought she was with you." Jack replied. "She wondered off again, it looks like." Jack ran fast for a man of his size, and Vlad kept lagging behind.

She wasn't seen in any of her classes, either. She, Jack, and Vlad took Home Ec., mainly because Jack thought it was a good way to get girls. Vlad already knew how to cook, and spent most of his time making sure Jack and Maddie didn't blow anything up. Obviously, there was a lot of drama between classmates. Vlad learned more than he ever wanted to. Course, half the girls were fawning over Jack while he got stepped aside.

After school was over, there was only one question: where was Maddie?

X X X X X X X X X X X

Maddie nervously walked into the building, looking for someone who could help her. She saw someone at the desk and rang the bell to get his attention. "Can I help you?" Officer Daniels remarked.

"Yes, I'd like to report a… crime." Maddie gulped and forced herself to stay on her feet. "Can…can we talk privately?"

"No problem, sweetie." Daniels smiled, not realizing that it scared her. "Hey, Phil, take over the desk for me! There's an interview I got to go!" "Phil' gave him a thumbs up and sat in the seat. Maddie walked slowly, well behind him. Daniels simply waited for her to catch up and waited for her to sit down in the interview room. "So what can the Springwood Police do for you?"

"It's… it's not easy to say." Daniels simply sat there with his hands folded, waiting. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

"Just take your time, Miss…Levington."

"It happened about two weeks ago. My boyfriend offered me a ride home and I accepted. I should have known something was wrong when he took me the opposite way. He stopped the car and started…touching me. I told him to stop, but he didn't listen. I tried to get away, but he hit me." By this time, tears were pouring. "He… ripped off my clothes, made me touch him. I kept saying stop, but he didn't care. He raped me and then dropped me off at my house, like… nothing was wrong. He waved at me and blew me a kiss." She collapsed onto the table in a sobbing heap. _"You belong to me, slut!_

'Look, it's important to remember that this was not your fault. If you want to blame someone, blame him." _Shame the law doesn't allow me to shoot these bastards. _"Listen, Maddie, what is his name?"

"I can't tell you! He'll kill me, and then he'll kill Vlad and Jack. I should have fought harder I should have run for my life."

"Don't beat yourself over it, child. Look, did you keep the clothes, bodily fluids, anything of that sort?"

"No, he…ripped them off and gave me some new ones. I threw them away as soon as I could do it without Vlad noticing. I spent hours in the shower, just trying to get his scent off me."

"Where did you throw the clothes?"

"I threw them in his garage, by all the junk so I'd never have to see them again." Tears were still flowing, but not as frequently as before.

"Look, what is his name? If you tell me, we'll be able to lock him up so he'll never hurt anyone again." He had a sneaking suspicion. "I want to say how proud I am of you. Not many rape victims come forward; you're a brave woman." He knew a woman would be better for this, but they were off-duty or on patrol.

"I won't tell you! I won't! I don't want Vlad to get hurt for helping me!"

"You keep mentioning Vlad? Did he have anything to do with this?"

"No, he'd never hurt me! It's not him! It's not him! Please don't go after Vlad."

Daniels stood up and opened out his hand. "Look, here's my card. If you change your mind, call me, ok?" Maddie left in a sprint, more terrified than ever. _I'm going to have to ask around about him. He might be the guy, but as long as she refuses to identify him, I can't do anything. _He knew what he had to do.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Hey, Maddie, where were you yesterday?" Jack asked. "Me and V-man looked for you everywhere."

"Sorry, I had something to take care of." Maddie told them, refusing to meet their eyes. _Vlad's going to get blamed and it's all my fault! I should have kept my damn mouth shut!_

"Maddie, did he come near you again?" Vlad asked, touching her arm, but she pulled away in a panic. She ran off, leaving them in the dust. "I screwed up again, didn't I?"

"V-man, you're doing the best you can." Jack reassured. "You're probably helping her more than I am. By the way, the head cheerleader asked me out today."

"Are you going to go?"

"I don't really have a choice; I've been working on this for over a month."

"Suddenly, she's more important than Maddie?!"

"Look, Vlad, I'm trying to help in my own way. All of us need to focus on rebuilding ourselves. This just means Ken has power over us. By the way, there's a guest speaker wanting to talk to all the students privately."

"You read that from some stupid self-help book! If you think cheerleaders are more important than Maddie, fine! I'll help her through this! Care about someone other than yourself, asshole!"

"V-man, please…" Vlad lost it and punched him in the jaw. He hissed in pain and cursed to himself. Jack could beat him up with both hands tied behind his back. However, he simply stood there for a few seconds, felt the rapidly swelling bruise and walked away. Vlad cursed in rage and pain.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Good to see you, Mr. Fenton." Morand declared as Jack walked into the room. "Sit; may as well be comfortable."

"Thanks; it's been a pretty crazy day."

"So what do you want, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Morand asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Jack asked. "Life, school, what?"

"Anything you can think of; what do you want?"

"Well, I either want to be a ghost hunter or a quarterback for the NFL. That would be cool! Let's see; I'd like to keep Vlad and Maddie as my friends. Maybe a nice house, a kick-ass car, and a hot girlfriend. Course, Vlad's real ticked at me right now."

"Out of curiosity, do you want revenge on him?"

"No, no way. Now that I think about it, I may have deserved it. Jeez, I didn't know V-man could hit that hard. He's got an arm on him." He chuckled softly. "Anyway, that's what I want."

"And after that?"

"I don't know; I never really thought about it. Guess as long as I have all that, it doesn't really matter."

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Fenton." He waved him to the door, and Jack walked out with a confused look on his face.

X X X X X X X X X X X

Vlad sighed to himself as he swung his backpack onto his back, ready to go home. Maddie had already left and Jack had football practice, which left him by himself. "I hope nothing happens to her again." Vlad muttered. She had seen Ken earlier today and went pale, not responding to anything, reacting even worse than when he touched her on the arm. It was all he could do not to attack him, even though he would surely lose the fight.

"Ah, Mr. Masters, I'm glad I caught you." Morand stated, walking beside him.

"Yeah, I skipped your appointment, and no, I don't care, so what do you want?" Vlad snapped.

"Strange; I was about to ask you the same question." Morand told him. "What do you want?"

"Okay, you sound crazy; how about you annoy someone else?" Vlad started to walk home, only to find that Morand was following him. "I'm afraid I need an answer before I do, Mr. Masters. What do you want?"

"Is this some kind of joke? Whatever; get the hell away from me and leave me alone!" "Is that it, Masters? Is that really all?"

Vlad turned around and looked at him furiously. "All right, fine; I'll play your game! You really want to know what I want, what my desires are? I want to have power that makes what my parents have as nothing beside it! I want to get even with everybody who's screwed me over in life! I want Maddie to feel the same way about me that I do about her! I want the man who raped her to feel pain he can't even imagine! I want him to beg for mercy, for clemency, only to find he is helpless, just as he left Maddie!" Logically, he knew he shouldn't be opening up this way to a stranger, but Vlad was too furious to care.

"I want to be able to help her, to make it as if this never happened! I want to stop living my life in fear of being attacked, of being helpless to defend myself! I want the baseless accusations against myself and Maddie to end permanently! I want power, control, fear, the ability to get anything I want with Maddie by my side! I've had enough of being on the bottom of life; I want myself, Maddie, and perhaps Jack able to accomplish anything, to achieve what anyone else can only dream of! I want Jack to suffer for the selfishness he showed me! How could he do anything like that?! Does that answer your question, you son of a bitch?!" By now, Vlad was screaming in his face. Disgusted, he stormed off. When he was out of earshot, Morand declared. "Yes, Masters. Yes, it does."

Yeah, I made it sound ominous. I like putting a dangerous twist on things. Who is Morand? You'll find out… maybe. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Glad you think I'm doing this accurately. Writing this is like picking a scab; painful, but I can't stop.

I should probably put Vlad's parents in more, but they only play a minor role. This focuses on Jack, Maddie, and Vlad.


	4. Accusations

Sorry, I have been sick for the past 2 weeks, along with registering for classes, which have been a real pain in the ass. Hopefully now I can update more. This story is over halfway done, at least according to my plans. It could end up longer, but I'm hoping to keep it relatively short. If it's not one thing, it's another, it seems like.

For the past week, Maddie had been avoiding him yet again. Vlad was worried, wondering what else could have happened. _Did I say or do something to make her mad? Sigh, am I really this much of an idiot? _He knew he should deal with Ken, but something always held him back. Part of Vlad thought it was because in spite of everything, he was not a violent person, but most of him thought he was simply a coward.

It was getting close to the winter and the semester finals were nearing. Vlad was working hard in preparation for them, hoping to do well. He spent a lot of his time tutoring Jack, since while Jack was not a fool, he was not good at paying attention in anything.

"Hey, V-man, do you know where Maddie is?" asked Jack. "I haven't seen her anywhere."

"No, I think she's avoiding me." Vlad sighed. "I must have said something to set her off." He eventually forgave Jack, realizing he didn't intend to be insensitive.

"Anyway, I'm just thinking of what to do with Ken. Those accidents he's been having in P.E. class are suspicious, so we'll have to think of something else. God, I just want to beat the crap out of him, but I'm worried that if I do that, he'll go after Maddie again."

"You think the police will believe us?"

"They have a soft spot for Maddie after what happened about a year ago, but without proof, there's not much they can do."

"And rape is difficult to prove anyway, even if they know sexual intercourse took place." Jack stared at him. "I did some research; try it sometime. It turns into a he-said she-said story, and there's little they can do. Unfortunately, most get away with it, especially since a lot of the time, it's not even reported."

"Vlad, can we talk to you?" asked Mrs. Masters, barging in.

"All right, all right." Vlad groaned, getting up. "Jack, I'll be back in a minute. Hopefully, this won't take too long." He followed and his father was in the living room.

"Son, we've noticed that your grades are slipping." Mr. Masters stated. "You actually got a D on your last test; what happened? I've never seen you get a D in your entire life. What's going on?"

"Look, I really don't think I should tell you." Vlad sighed. He should have known that his parents would know something was up. They weren't stupid, even if Vlad frequently thought them as such.

"Vlad, tell me, now." His father stated. He looked much like Vlad, except he was a couple inches taller and his hair was grey, nearly white. "If this is about those bullies in school, I told you to simply ignore them. They aren't worth your time!"

"Yeah, like you know what it's like! I get bullied day in and day out, and you two never did a damn thing, not for 10 years. You told me just to put up with it, ignore it and it would stop. Yeah, that really worked out great." He wasn't ordinarily like this with his parents, but the stress of the past few weeks took its toll on him. "Thanks for nothing, by the way."

"Vladimir, do not talk to us with such disrespect!" Mrs. Masters snapped. "We're trying to help you, ok?"

"It isn't me, ok?!"

"Then what is it?" his father asked.

"I can't tell you; I promised."

"You promised who? Vlad, just tell us what is going on."

"All right, fine. It's about Maddie!"

"What did she do to you?" Mrs. Masters asked her son. "Look, I warned you about her. Did she cheat on you?"

"No, we aren't even in a relationship!"

"We warned you about her, son." Mr. Masters told Vlad. "You should have listened to us."

"Shut the hell up, both of you!" Vlad screamed, startling his parents. Trying to calm down, he sighed and said. "Something happened to her about a month ago. I promised her I wouldn't say what it was. I'm trying to help her, but…I really don't know what to do." A tear flowed down his cheek.

"Stop crying, Vlad!" His father snapped. "You are a man; act like it!"

"I've had enough of your crap! Where were you when I needed you? Whenever I asked for your help, both of you blew me off, like I didn't even exist! I shouldn't have wasted my time saying anything to you!"

"Tell your friend to leave; you're not allowed to have anyone over until I say otherwise!"

X X X X X X X X X X

"Thank you for coming again, Maddie." Officer Daniels greeted as she sat down. "How are you holding up?"

"About…as well as can be expected, thanks." Maddie replied. "I still have nightmares almost every night, and I can't let people get too close to me. If I ask for affection, I can handle it, but not if I'm caught by surprise."

"And of course, I would ask you to identify your rapist. You don't have to be afraid. We can protect you, put you in a safe place."

"How can I be sure of that; he'll kill me, I told you that!"

"Do your parents know about this?"

"Yeah, like they would give a damn. Oh, you mean my adopted parents. I still haven't told them. I don't want to burden them with my problems."

"It's your choice, but I highly recommend you tell them. I'm a parent myself; it's hard to imagine what kind of things go through a father's mind if you haven't been in that position. They've got to know something going on." However, Maddie was unaware that Daniels had put a listening device in the room. If she mentioned who it was, he wanted documented proof.

"We're having problems with my stepsister and it's getting nasty. I don't want to make them feel worse."

"I'm sure they can help you. Holding everything in is not going to help you."

"I know; I've just told my best friends. They're trying to help, and I'm grateful. It's why I can't tell you. If I did, if he couldn't get to me, he'd go after them."

"He can't go after any of you if he's behind bars. I can help you, but only if you let me. Do you want him to get away with this?"

"Of course I don't! Why would you possibly think that? I just don't want him to hurt me again." _"You'll never be able to hide from me, slut. No matter where you go, I'll be there. You'll scream as I cut through your friends, listening to their pleas. You're weak, Stevens. You deserved this; you wanted it; you asked for it!" _She was beginning to consider telling him, but the fear lingered.

"Then tell me, please. I want to help you."

_Okay, be strong, Maddie; be strong. Think of Vlad…he's helped you through this. Jack tries, but he's not what you would call real sensitive. Vlad…Vlad…Vlad; focus on your friends. Build your strength. _Only too late did she realize that she said Vlad's name out loud. Horrified, she ran out the door. _He's never going to forgive me for this. _

Daniels sighed and went back to his usual paperwork duties, lost in thought. _So I was right all along; it's going to take time to prove, but I think I can get a search warrant for the home, search for evidence. Planning, obsession, clothing…_ He noticed someone else come in. He looked to be around the same age as Maddie, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. "What can I do for you?" he asked, giving his name.

"Look, can I talk to you." he asked. "This is important. I better come forward before it's too late." Daniels led him to one of the rooms and sat him down.

"Ok, what do you want to tell me?"

"Sigh, I've heard the rumors, but was too scared to come forward until I heard you were questioning him. It's hard to day, but…Vlad raped Maddie. I heard her yell and scream. Name's Ken, by the way."

"Ok…Ken, when was this?"

"A month ago, more or less. They were on a trail me and my family members frequently use for hiking. I was out there walking my dog last night when I heard voices near the dirt road."

"Did you know who they were?"

"Not as first, but when I got closer, I heard Vlad and Maddie. She was saying something like 'stop, please, stop'. Then I heard a loud slap and another scream. I rushed over after tying my dog to one of the trees. I saw them in his parent's car. She was struggling, trying to pull away. I saw tears in her clothes and she tried to get out of the car. I'm sorry; I can't continue."

"Just take your time." Daniels was analyzing him carefully, reading him. _Hmm, I don't think he's lying, but even with an eyewitness, it's not going to be easy to get Masters. _

"Ok, ok, I'll do my best. She screamed, fought, tried to get away. I should have helped her, but…I ran away, leaving her. I was afraid; I didn't know what to you!" He buried his face in his hands.

"We make mistakes, and you may have ended up saving your life. There are a lot of dangerous people out there."

"Look, it…wasn't easy to believe at first. I know Vlad at school. He's kind of the weird, creepy kid people either keep their distance from or make fun of. I thought he was dangerous, but I never dreamed he could do something like that to his friend."

"What about the dog you mentioned? Did you leave him there? You tied him up."

"Yeah, well, I can't tie a knot to save my life. Stupid dog got free and I nearly tripped over him when I was fleeing."

"Do you know the area well?"

"Yeah, it's a route me and my family use quite often."

"What made you decide to come forward now? This was nearly a month ago."

"I heard that you had gotten a search warrant for his house. I thought…maybe I didn't need to be afraid. Look, Vlad seems calm, but if you make him angry, he…he goes insane. I thought he'd do something if I came forward. I'm sorry! I'm not a brave person."

"Just trying to get your account. How well can you remember this incident?"

"Fairly well. I don't remember every last detail, but…"

"Just have to make sure." He continued asking questions while Ken gave answers.

The next day, Vlad came home from school to see a police cruiser and two officers talking to his parents.

"Mr. Masters, glad to see you." stated a female officer. "We were hoping you could explain a few things for us."

"Like what?" Vlad asked, instantly on the defensive.

"Like how these clothes got into your garage." she asked, pointing to the bagged clothes that her partner was holding as he was talking to his parents.

"What clothes? I have no idea what you're referring to!"

"These are female clothes, and since your mother has already said they are not hers, can you explain what they were doing in your garage?"

"No, I can't! I didn't know they were there!" _This is not looking good for me. _

"How close would you say you and Miss Stevens are?"

"You mean, Maddie. We're pretty close; we've been friends since kindergarten."

"Have you ever been…intimate with Miss Stevens?"

"No, I haven't." Vlad was trying frantically to calm himself. At least to him, it sounded like they suspected him of what happened to her. _Why does this shit always happen to me? Why am I always accused of things? Right, because I appear different, weird, and people are frightened of that. _

"Do you have any weapons on you, Mr. Masters?"

"No, I don't. Unless you count the pencil in my pocket as a weapon."

"Hand it to me, please." He reached into his pocket, gulping when he saw her hand on her holster, and handed it to her. She nodded and asked: "Do you often put pictures of your friends in you room?"

"Yes, I do. I'd put them on my wall, but my parents don't allow me to do it."

"Then why are most of them picture of Miss Stevens?"

"Look, she's my friend and I care about her. Jack is usually the one who takes the pictures of us."

"Though to you, she's more than a friend, isn't she?"

"Why do you say that?"

"You have many love poems referring to your undying love for her. They were hidden in the bottom of your drawer, like you didn't want anyone to see them."

"Sigh, my dad would just laugh and say that men aren't supposed to act this way. Now leave me alone; I've had a long day and I want to relax for a while."

X X X X X X X X X X

"Look, Vlad, Maddie didn't mean to do that, ok?" Jack defended when Vlad told him about it the next day. "It was an accident."

"I know, but it really pisses me off." Vlad snapped. "I've been trying to help her, I'm her friend, and no one has any difficulty in believing I'm guilty! Even my teachers don't seem to have any doubts. How did this rumor get around anyway?"

"Sigh, someone overheard you complaining about it under your breath and it spread everywhere."

"Damn it! So this is my own fault?"

"Vlad, enough. It doesn't matter what any of them think; you know you're not guilty; so do Maddie and I."

"Easy for you to say! You've always had friends to be around. All I've ever had is you and Maddie. What do I do if you start believing it? I…don't think I can deal with that."

"We'll never say that about you, ok? Calm down."

"Look, I was dragged in for questioning the other day. It was frightening; they were talking about evidence, that they would throw me in prison. I finally had enough and left. I don't know how much of this I can take." _You're worried about falling apart? Think of Maddie!_

"Well, I have some good news for you. I found Ken, and…taught him a bit of a lesson. He didn't stand a chance against my muscles. He's a coward, Vlad, nothing more!"

"Sigh, I should have done that, but I was too afraid."

"Look, Vlad, physical confrontation is not your thing. You've helped Maddie much more than I have! You can understand her, you can help her. Hell, I actually feel jealous of that. Both of you are my friends, ok? I love you guys; just don't get any ideas, Vlad. I know you."

"Don't worry about that. Besides, if I was gay, I'd go after someone much hotter than you!" Vlad cracked a small smile. Jack's jokes, while they seemed out of place to others helped his friends. He had a naturally sunny disposition, something Vlad and Maddie lacked.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Vlad was about to make a sarcastic comment when he looked behind him. A police officer was there, glaring at Vlad. "Look, you left your doughnuts down the road; I didn't eat them!"

"Mr. Masters, come with me." He stated sternly, ignoring Jack.

"What is this about now?" Vlad groaned.

"We can do it quietly or we can make a scene; it's up to you." Sighing, Vlad followed him. Once out of Jack's earshot, he said: "You're under arrest for the rape of Maddie Stevens. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been red to you?" He slapped handcuffs on Vlad, dragging him to the cruiser.

_Sigh, so now I'm accused of raping Maddie. _Vlad thought as he was put in the back of a police car. _I actually thought things couldn't get worse; shows what I knew._

Yep, I seem to love torturing Vlad for my own amusement. Truth be told, I've been in this kind of situation. Never as serious as this, but I give off sort of a weird vibe because of my learning disability and others overreact to things. I say I think a girl looks nice and they get scared; it's tiring. I don't want to go on a rant, though, so I'll try to leave it at that. Admittedly, I relate to Vlad more than any other character on "Danny Phantom". Strange, I know, but true.

Okay, so I finally got a new chapter. Yay, me! Fighting for computers, fighting a bug, and your own laziness isn't an easy thing to do. That, and I'm working on original fiction that I hope to get published one day. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story, and the fact you guys say I'm doing well in capturing the emotion means I've done my job.

As always, please review; no excuses! All it takes is clicking a button and writing for a minute or two.


	5. Trial

**Well, just a couple more chapters left and this story will be finished. I have a couple new ones planned, but I'll do my best to focus on this story. **

**Maddie woke up in a cold sweat from another of her nightmares. This was nothing new for her for the past month and a half. Her stepfather had asked her several times what was going on, but she kept lying to him. Maddie could tell he knew, though. She hadn't seen Jack yesterday, either. **

_**He doesn't think I'm unclean…does he? **_**Maddie thought. **_**It wasn't my fault I was raped…I think.**_

**Not able to get back to sleep, she walked into the kitchen and got a glass of milk. Before she went back to her room, she looked in on her stepsister. She was protective before this happened; she was more so now.**

**Maddie gasped in fear as she saw Ken near her bed, smirking. "Hello, Maddie; good to see you." He grinned.**

"**What do you want?" Maddie managed to gasp out.**

"**Oh, nothing…for the moment." Ken laughed. "Just wanted to give you a little warning; I can get to you or anyone you care about whenever I want. Keep your whoring mouth shut Well, there is one thing. Here's what I want you to do." When he was done talking, He left out the window, leaving Maddie nearly paralyzed.**

**It was a weekend, so everyone slept in. Maddie went for a walk, taking a butcher knife with her. She knew what might happen, and she didn't want to go down without as much of a fight as she could put up.**

"**Maddie!" Jack exclaimed. She shrieked in fear and turned around, relaxing when she saw him. "Did you hear what happened?"**

"**What are you talking about, Jack?" she asked. "Is this another rumor about me at school? I don't want to know about it."**

"**You're going to want to know this." Jack bowed his head, looking more serious than usual. "Vlad's just been arrested."**

"**For what?!" **_**"Keep your whoring mouth shut." This is what he meant. **_**"You can't be serious!"**

"**They think he's the one responsible and have arrested him for it. How could this possibly happen?"**

_**My god, it's my fault; it's my fault. I can't tell Jack. He'd hate me for this! I shouldn't have gone in the first place. **_**"I don't know; how could they possibly think it was him? He's been trying to help me!"**

"**Well, we've got to go to the station and clear everything up!" He knew better than to grab Maddie's arm, but was confused when he wasn't following.**

"**Jack, I can't do it. Don't ask me why; I just can't."**

"**Maddie, please, what's going on?" **_**No, no, no, don't tell me it's true. I won't believe it! God, I haven't asked you for much, but grant me this!**_

"**Don't ask me; just trust me!" **_**Ken will kill them if I utter a word! I'm sorry, Vlad; please forgive me!**_

"**Ok, ok, Maddie. Just figured you would want to know." Maddie sat down on the wet grass and started crying. **_**But I'm not dropping it. I'm going to figure out what's going on. **_**He simply sat there silently, trying to offer what comfort he was able to give. **

**X X X X X X X X X X **

"**Listen to me, you son of a bitch!" Daniels screamed in Vlad's face. "We've got you dead to rights; you thought you'd terrify her into keeping silent! You're not going to weasel your way out of this one!" Vlad wiped the spit off his face, flinching at his rage. **

"**Look, buddy, calm down." his partner stated. "Your attitude isn't going to solve anything."**

"**The hell it won't!" Daniels screamed back. He turned back to Vlad. "You're going down, you understand me?! You know what they do to people like you in prison?!"**

"**I…I didn't do anything!" Vlad managed to stammer out. **_**Yep, things can get worse. **_

"**Bullshit! We've got more than enough evidence to bring you down!"**

"**Look, just back off." He turned to Vlad. "Don't worry about him; he's an idiot. Can I get you anything?"**

"**No, no thanks." Vlad stated distrustfully. **

"**All right, look, I can understand. I was your age at one time. I know how hard it is to control your hormones."**

"**What the hell are you getting at? I didn't do anything!" Vlad protested.**

"**Hey, it was probably an accident; you never meant for anything for this to happen…"**

"**That's just complete shit, Tyler, and we both know it!" Daniels sat down with his face less than a foot away from Vlad's and started talking in a soft, angry tone, which was, in a way, more frightening than when he was screaming. "I want a confession out of you, and I want it right now, motherfucker! You think you fool anyone with this innocent act of yours?" Vlad couldn't bring himself to speak. **

"**Back off him; come on!" Tyler tried to pull him back.**

"**Imagine being beaten up for no reason, raped because you looked at someone wrong! That's what happens to you in prison, Masters! They'll eat you up and spit you out, you son of a bitch!**

"**To me, you're nothing but dog shit, someone who preys on innocent people. I want a confession or you're going to find out when I get a few minutes alone with you, understand?" By this time, Vlad was terrified and sweating profusely. **

"**I know your type, Masters. You think just because you're bullied, you're entitled to do anything you want. You decided to take out your frustration on an innocent girl who never did anything to you! You didn't care about that, though; all you wanted to do was make someone hurt the way you do! If you want to help yourself, you better do it now."**

"**Enough; leave him alone!" Tyler said, shoving him aside. "Sorry about that; my partner gets a little overzealous sometimes."**

"**Uh…thanks, but I didn't do anything." Vlad protested again, but he knew it wasn't going to help. **

"**Look, you probably don't feel that way, but again, I was your age at one time. You were making out, about to have sex, when she refused, or maybe even laughed at you. You were turned on, maybe angry, and you decided to have sex with her. I've seen it before; maybe you thought it was only a joke, that you didn't mean it.**

"**A jury can understand that; many will be able to relate to it. But you've got to tell me so I can help you." Both detectives spent nearly an hour saying similar things, by which time Vlad was both frightened and confused. **

"**As for now, this interrogation of my client is over." Declared someone who walked in the door. She was a woman in her mid-30s, wore glasses, and clearly had a don't-screw-with-me aura. Reluctantly, the two officers left. Once they were out of the room, both sighed.**

"**Well, so much for getting a confession; I was pretty close too." Tyler sighed.**

"**It's not going to be easy now; the evidence we have might get past the grand jury," Daniels admitted. "But I don't think it's going to be enough for a conviction." **

"**We'll just have to keep looking." Tyler admitted. "if there were other witnesses, we could nail him, but most of the time, we're not so lucky. Don't worry; we'll nail the SOB. Wait, you said we had another witness?" Daniels nodded. "Then we'll get him locked up! You know, you have way too much fun playing the bad cop."**

"**What can I say? It's a talent of mine."**

"**Well, don't push it too far. Arguably, if he had confessed, he could argue coercion, especially if he clearly remembers in my mind your threats." **

"**Let him talk; even if he mentions it, who's going to believe him?"**

"**You better hope not; what the hell were you thinking, threatening to beat him up? You can't actually do that."**

"**Maybe not, but he doesn't need to know that."**

"**Maybe you should take a few days off, have a small vacation. Seems like this has gotten to you personally."**

**Ultimately, he took his partner's advice. Vlad was put in a lineup and identified in the meantime. **

**X X X X X X X X X X **

**Docket number 6659; Springwood Vs. Vlad Masters; charge is Rape." Said a man as he handed a folder to the judge. It didn't take very long for the case to go through to the Grand Jury. 18 felt there was enough evidence; 5 did not. **

"**How does the defendant plead?" he asked.**

"**Not guilty," replied Mrs. Sanders.**

"**People on bail?"**

"**We request remand, your honor." Stated prosecutor Jose Golinaz. "Due to the nature of the crime and the defendant's close proximity to the victim."**

"**Your honor, my client is innocent and wants his freedom to prove it." Sanders argued. "We can easily show that the evidence is weak and all of this is simply a giant mistake."**

"**Save it for court; bail is 300,000. Next case!" he banged the gavel.**

"**That won't take us very long." Mr. Masters assured his son. "Now do you see what I meant when I told you about her?" Vlad was still in too much of a daze to reply. **

**After about several hours, he was released on bail and taken home. **_**Why are they accusing me? **_**He asked, not for the first time. **_**Did Maddie actually accuse me of it or is it something else? If she did, why? Did Ken get to her? **_

**He tried to relax either by reading or watching television. Neither worked for long, however, so he decided to take a walk. **

"**Hey, V-man, what are you doing here?" Jack asked.**

"**I needed to take a walk; too much hitting me at once." Vlad sighed, rubbing his temple. "God, can't believe I'm actually going to prison. What has Maddie said?"**

"**She hasn't talked to me for a few days." Jack replied. "Truth be told, I think Ken's gotten to her. He said or did something to terrify her into silence."**

"**Yeah, I figured as much. What do we do about it? Besides beat him up, I mean?" **

"**At this point, damned if I know. Just hope the jury doesn't count you."**

"**Yeah, that is so reassuring! Look, he's intending to testify against me, saying he saw me do things! I'm screwed; I'm fucking screwed and you're telling me I can't do anything?! That's just fucking great!"**

"**Look, these kind of cases are difficult to prove. Besides, we know you're innocent and that's all that matters."**

"**Everything's falling apart. I do my best not to blame Maddie, but…there are times where I hold it against her." **

"**Look, don't do anything like that! This isn't her fault!"**

"**Well, that doesn't do me much good now, does it?!" He saw Maddie walking towards them. "Hello, Maddie." He was visibly trying to hold in his temper. **

"**Look, Vlad, I'm sorry; I'm so, so sorry." Maddie declared, breaking down. Vlad bit back a vicious retort when he saw her fall apart. Fighting back his anger, he pulled her into his arms and let her cry. She struggled for a second, but remembered who he was and snuggled toward him. **

**None of them knew how long they stayed there, while Maddie cried within Vlad's arms, for her suffering and his own. Eventually, though, they released one another and the tried glanced towards each other, wondering what to do next. It didn't look good for them. Vlad was well aware of cases where the prosecution's case was not strong, but the man was convicted anyway simply because they wanted someone to burn. **

"**Look, he was in my house a few days ago, standing over my sister's bed." Maddie admitted. "I knew what the implication was, and he told me to testify against you. I don't know what to do here. I don't want you to go to prison, but if I don't do what he says, he'll kill her."**

"**We'll find a way out of this." Jack stated, but even he doubted his words. **

**X X X X X X X X X X **

"**State your name and occupation for the court, please." Golinzas asked.**

"**Joseph Daniels, Springwood police officer." Daniels informed.**

"**How long have you been a police officer?"**

"**6 years."**

"**How did you get involved with this case?"**

"**Well, a couple of weeks ago Miss Stevens came in and said she wanted to talk to me."**

"**Did she specify?"**

"**No, she insisted that we talk alone."**

"**What happened then?" **

"**Well, once she managed to compose herself, she informed me that she had been raped by her boyfriend."**

"**What did you do next?"**

"**I listened to her, asked her questions, and noticed that one name that seemed to come up frequently was Vlad. Uh…the defendant."**

"**Did Miss Stevens tell you it was him?"**

"**Not at the time, no."**

"**What do you mean?"**

"**She left after I gave her my card, telling her to call me if she had anything else to tell me?"**

"**And did she?" **

"**Yes, a couple of days later."**

"**Why then?"**

"**It was obvious to me that she was very frightened. She kept saying 'he'll kill me'."**

"**Objection, calls for speculation." Sanders protested. **

"**Sustained."**

"**What did she tell you the second time?"**

"**She told me how she was holding up. I informed her that if she decided to talk that we would be able to protect her."**

"**What did she say?"**

"**She admitted that she told her friends, and eventually told me who had raped her."**

"**And who was that person?"**

"**The defendant." he pointed to an extremely nervous.**

"**What did you do then?"**

"**Me and my partner get a search warrant and looked for clothes, evidence of obsession or planning, anything there that might tell us the story."**

"**What, if anything, did you find?"**

"**There were articles of torn clothing hidden inside his garage."**

"**How could you be sure they did not belong to someone else?"**

"**Everyone inside the home denied the clothing belonged to them."**

"**Could you describe the state of them?"**

"**They were badly torn, like she was struggling to get away."**

"**Thank you; no further questions." **

"**Mr. Daniels, what did you do after that?" Sanders asked, trying to refute his testimony. **

"**My partner and I arrested and interrogated him."**

"**But he didn't confess did he?"**

"**No, unfortunately not."**

"**In fact, you told him you 'wanted a few minutes alone with him' Mr. Daniels."**

"**What are you talking about?"**

"**You threatened to beat a confession out of him, didn't you?"**

"**No, of course I didn't!"**

"**Then what do you call the threat you made?"**

"**Okay, maybe I did say a couple of things that were considered unprofessional."**

"**As you appear to have a habit of doing. Defense exhibit A, your honor." She stood up, handed it to him. He looked it over for a few minutes, handed it back, and she sat down. "During your time as a police officer, you've gotten yourself into a fair amount of trouble."**

"**Objection" Golinaz stated.**

"**I'll rephrase. Your disciplinary file states that you were suspended for a week; care to tell the jury why?"**

"**I…got personally involved in a case."**

"**How did you become personally involved?"**

"**I…got too close to the victim."**

"**And what was the case?"**

"**Assault with a deadly weapon,"**

"**How did you become close to the victim and why?"**

"**Objection, relevance." Golinaz asked.**

"**I'm trying to establish ground work for a pattern of behavior." Sanders informed. The Judge waved them to his chambers. Meanwhile, Vlad was looking at the jury with terror in his eyes. His parents and Jack were there to support him. Maddie was not, unable to look at him while this was going on. About half an hour later, the three return to the courtroom**

"**I can rip this guy apart, don't worry." Sanders told him. "He's made some mistakes we can use."**

"**And on three occasions, you have been reprimanded for using excessive force. Correct?"**

"**Yes, that's correct." **

"**So this is hardly an isolated incident; it appears you have a pattern of such behavior. Right, Mr. Daniels?"**

"**I wouldn't call it that." "Then what would you call it?"**

"**I call it being human."**

"**Then perhaps you were 'being human' when you threatened my client?"**

"**Look, I was being tough with him; that's different than beating or threatening him."**

"**Considering your behavior in the past, I'm not too inclined to take that on faith from you. So how can we be sure that you didn't just decide mistakenly that my guilty was guilty and decided to make sure you nailed him?" After nearly a minute, she nodded and said "No more questions," **

**After his partner testified, court was adjourned for the day.**

"**Okay, that was the easy part." Sanders told Vlad. "The fact that two witnesses are willing to testify against you is going to be a much bigger problem. It's somewhat of a weak case, except for them. The difficulty is the Juror's prejudices against you. It's a rape case, and you're a male."**

"**Yeah, I get that." Vlad rubbed his temples, trying to keep himself together. "How the hell could this have happened?" **_**I hope Jack will be able to prove that Ken's done all this. Probably terrified Maddie into doing this, and as for the rest, likely bad luck. It always seems to happen to me. Even if I'm found 'not guilty', the stigma of this is going to stay with me for a long time.**_

_**X X X X X X X X X X **_

**Maddie knew she was a coward, but she just couldn't face Vlad this way. "I hope I can do this." she said to herself. **_**It's not easy, but I can't just let this happen. **_**She grabbed a gun, feeling the weight of it in her hand. **_***gulp* I don't see any other way to get Vlad off; I'm sorry. **_

**Have to admit, this chapter was pretty hard to write. I'm trying to be at least somewhat realistic with the interrogation and trial. If I made mistakes, please let me know. **


	6. Temporary Solution

Okay, looks like this is pretty good for me, considering how frequently I forget to update.

One thing I would like to point out: in this time period, DNA testing was not considered reliable by all courts, and didn't become so until the 1990's; this is around 1980 or so, when the testing was new.

One warning: part of this chapter will be close to an "M" rating, so if that isn't your thing, skip it.

X X X X X X X X X X

Vlad walked around somberly, wondering how all of this could have happened. Mostly, he didn't blame Maddie, but he was hardly new to being wrongfully accused; it came with looking weird. However, he had never been accused of anything this serious.

"Hey, Vlad." Maddie greeted, sitting down. Vlad sat next to her several feet away. "Look, I'm still not sure about this, but it has to be done. I'm going to reveal that he was the one who…raped me." She forced herself not to fall apart and continued. "This has gone on far enough; I'm not letting you go to prison for something you didn't do."

"I just wish we could nail him, but I know the law well enough to know that now it's next to impossible." Vlad sighed. _All I can do, Maddie, is try to help you heal. _

"It doesn't matter at this point." Maddie insisted. "I've got to clear you of this. I intend to testify tomorrow and say that you were not the one. If Ken is there, I'll finger him." _Sigh, I had to tell them. They're already in danger, and if I do this whatever mentioning the truth…_

"Thanks, Maddie. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you. Guess I'm not much of a friend after all."

"Vlad, you have helped me, more than you realize. Without you, I wouldn't even have the strength to go aside.."

"Can I hug you?" She took a deep breath, and nodded. Vlad held her gently, not wanting to frighten her. He patted her back and released her.

"Boo!" Someone screamed behind them. Maddie fell to the ground, fear in her eyes, but it was only Jack. "Hey, good to see you! I see your parents lifted the grounding!"

"Jack, you idiot!" Vlad snapped. "Just look what you've done!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jack scratched his head. He looked at Maddie, who was close to shuddering. "Oh, god, I'm sorry. I was just trying to be funny."

"Yes, and you did a wonderful job." Vlad spat, acid in his voice. "Idiot!"

"Look, why don't we just go…do something?" Maddie intervened, her hands clenched into fists. "I want to do…what we did before all this happened. Go out, watch a movie, play games, something."

"Okay, what do you have in mind?" Jack wondered.

"I don't know; there's supposed to be a good movie out right now." Maddie informed. "I think 'The Empire Strikes Back' is still in theaters."

"Have to admit, I've never seen that one." Vlad scratched his head. "You two can go, but I'm still grounded. I have to be back by 5; jeez, I'm 16 years old and still have to deal with a curfew!" He took out a watch, checked it, and left.

On his way home, he accidentally bumped into someone. Before he could apologize, the man punched him across the jaw. Vlad tried to get up, only to be kicked in the gut. "Still think you're such a big man, asshole?" he growled furiously. "You enjoy hurting women? Let's see what you can do against someone who can fight back!"

Vlad saw another one, and together, they dragged him behind a dumpster. He was kicked in the face, hurting his jaw badly, and he heard a quiet crack. He recognized one of them as a classmate who always had a crush on Maddie. _Probably doing this because he thinks it'll increase his chances of her sleeping with him. _He thought sardonically.

He was kicked in the back of the leg, ruining any chance of him getting away. The two continued their work, breaking his nose. Vlad kicked one of them in the stomach, but he was so weak by this point that it didn't have much affect. In retaliation, he stepped on Vad's hand, while he screamed in agony. The screams became even louder when he heard some of the bones break.

"All right, Tyler, what now?" one of them asked.

"I'm not done, not even close, bro." the other one answered. "Thanks for the help, though." He took something out of his pocket. Even in the fog of pain, Vlad recognized it as a switchblade. He moaned softly as the man stuck it inside his stomach, twisting the blade.

The other repeatedly punched him in the eyes, making it difficult to see. Vlad was crying by the point, begging for it to stop. "Stop whining, you son of a bitch!" Tyler screamed. "Did you show any mercy to Maddie? Did you?! Answer me, fucker!" Enraged, he stuck the knife in again, and then sending a fist into the wound.

Vlad was nearly unconscious at this point, and weakly tried to crawl away. A kick to the back ended that idea very quickly, however. Tyler again stabbed him, this time in the shoulder. That was all Vlad could endure, as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

X X X X X X X X X X

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time, Jack!" Maddie thanked him. "It's a shame Vlad couldn't have joined us, but I guess his parents are still mad at him."

"Amazing; it's been in theaters for over a month, and people still go there dressed as costumes." Jack replied. "Darth Vader is Luke's father; I never even dreamed that would be the case. Nothing like a space movie to take our mind off things."

"Except for my wallet; you ate 2 tubs of jumbo popcorn, you pig!" Maddie laughed, hitting him playfully in the arm.

"I know; I love that stuff too much. Just a shame they didn't have any fudge." _Glad you're starting to heal, Maddie. Been over 2 months, but maybe we can help you recover from this after all. _He continued to talk about how wonderful the movie was, even though it cost more than they thought to go.

It was now completely dark, and Maddie's joy began to fade. She was still frightened and stayed close to Jack. The streets were mostly deserted, with only a few people walking around. "It's not much farther to your house, ok?" Jack reassured. They continued to walk for a few more minutes until Jack nearly tripped over something. "Oh, crap! What is that?"

Maddie looked closer and gasped in horror. "It's Vlad!" she screamed. Jack ran to a pay phone with all his speed, while Maddie looked him over. He was covered in dried blood, and several bones on his hand were obviously broken. She held his (relatively) uninjured hand and held it in her own, crying. "Damn it, Ken, you're going to pay for this!" _I can't wait any longer; I have to tell the truth before someone gets killed. _

Within a few minutes, an ambulance arrived and they carefully put the still-unconscious Vlad on a stretcher and hauled him off to the hospital. Maddie latched onto Jack, crying her eyes out. He held her gently, about to fall apart himself. "Maddie, I think we better go home." Jack sighed. "We can't do anything for him now. The hospital will notify his parents."

Nodding, Maddie let go and walked the rest of the way home by herself, still paranoid about something else happening. It was slower than she would have been normally, as she jumped at the sight of anyone or even of shadows.

Finally, she opened the door and sat on her couch, lost in her own thoughts.

"Hey, Maddie, good to see you." her stepbrother smiled. He was the biggest of the family, around 6'2 and 300 pounds. He had blue eyes, red hair, and several prominent zits, even though he was 22 years old. "We've got some good news for you."

"What is it, Adrian?" Maddie sighed. "I could use just about anything at this point."

"Me and Tyler found the guy who raped you and taught him a lesson he'll never forget." Adrian chuckled. "Shame we couldn't have killed him, but we didn't have time. Oh, well, he's going to be in the hospital for a while."

"Who are you talking about?" Maddie tried to interrupt, but he continued regardless.

"Oh, the sounds of his bones breaking…we'll do it again a few times to make sure he pays for what he's done. Before we're through, sis, Vlad will never even think of touching you again."

"Vlad?" Maddie screamed.

"Hey, you telling her about it?" Tyler laughed. He was smaller, around 5'9, but was even more muscular. "Look, you don't have to be afraid anymore; we took care of him."

"You idiots; he didn't do anything!" Maddie screamed.

"Hey, he's been arrested for it, he's on trial, so he's guilty." Adrian shrugged. "We just decided to give him some more punishment."

"It wasn't him; he didn't do anything!"

"What are you talking about?" Adrian wondered. "Of course he did!"

"Look, Maddie, I understand that you're afraid of him, but you don't have to be any longer." Tyler tried to comfort her. "We can protect you now that we know who he is. Just wish we could have done it earlier…"

"It was Ken, not Vlad!" Maddie screamed herself hoarse. "Vlad's been trying to help me; so had Jack!"

"Who's Ken?" Adrian asked.

"Some guy in my class." Tyler replied. "Almost everyone seems to like him; can't believe he'd do anything like this."

"He did; he forced me down and had his way with me!" Both of her stepbrothers were stunned and neither knew what to say at this point. Maddie stormed into her room, and tried to sleep, but it wouldn't come. Her mind kept wandering to Vlad, whom she remembered helpless, hurt. For a few seconds, she wasn't even sure he was alive.

During the night, every noise and creak in the house made her think of Vlad's screams when her brothers attacked him. She knew she would more than likely not be able to tell the cops who had done this to him, especially since they would likely have little sympathy.

_Vlad seems weird, so he was an automatic suspect. _Maddie thought to herself. _Ken's funny, charming, and has a magnetic personality, so of course nobody suspects him of anything. _

Throughout the night, she tried many times and many ways to get even a small amount of sleep, but it didn't work. When she saw the sum come up, she finally gave up. Maddie got out of bed, ate a quick breakfast, and left the house, knowing what she had to do.

She walked, almost ran to the courthouse, intent on telling the prosecutor charging her case the truth. "Now just where are you going?" Ken smirked. "You wouldn't be trying to tell them what really happened, would you?"

"Piss off, Ken, I'm not dealing with your head games any more!" Maddie exclaimed. She sprinted away; Ken chased after her, but knew he would not be able to catch up and even if he did, it would lead to suspicion. Maddie reached the front of the courthouse.

Unfortunately, she couldn't get to him as quickly as she could. Security guards searched her to make sure she didn't carry weapons, as well as having to walk through a metal detector, which meant she had to spend a long time in line. After half an hour, she finally got free and searched through the area, wanting to find him.

"Mr. Golinaz, I need to talk to you!" She shouted at him once she finally found him in the crowd. He turned around and approached her.

"What can I do for you, Miss Fenton?" He replied.

"Look, can we talk privately with the judge?" Maddie asked. "Please, this is important; there's something I have to tell you people."

"All right, follow me." he told her reluctantly. She followed through a series of corridors into chambers. He introduced them and she sat down in one of the chairs.

_You can do this, Maddie. _"Vlad's innocent; he didn't do anything." he gulped. "I didn't speak up earlier because I was afraid of Ken. He's the guy who really…raped me. With everything that's happened since then, I decided to tell the truth."

"You know what this has just done to your case, right?" Golinaz reminded her. "We're going to have to turn this over to the defense."

"Good; he didn't do anything." Maddie snapped. "Look, I'm sure he's going to make me suffer for this, but the truth has to be told. I'll even take a polygraph if you don't believe me."

"Ok, so what exactly happened?" Golinaz asked. "I'll understand if you find it too painful to talk about, but please try." Maddie retold her story to them, although she had to take a break several times. Once she was finished, both the judge and prosecutor sat there silently for a moment.

"Well, this whole thing has become nothing more than a mess." The Judge sighed. "Hardly our usual case."

"Okay, thank you for telling us, Miss Fenton." Golinaz informed Maddie, despite being furious that he had so far wasted his time. He still wasn't sure she wasn't recanting under duress, but how could they possibly prosecute the case now? There was only one thing to do. "We'll drop the charges against your friend."

"Can you do anything about Ken?" Maddie pleaded.

"In all honesty, probably not much." Golinaz admitted. "We'd never manage to pull a case against Atherton now that we've arrested and tried someone else. Even witness intimidation will be difficult, since it's a he-said she-said story, which many of these cases become. You have to understand, Miss Fenton, that without witnesses rape is very difficult to prove, and there usually aren't any. Even with one, conviction is not certain.

"Many women do not even report rape, either because they are afraid, they feel it won't help, or simply because they want to forget it ever happened. There is a certain validity to that perspective, since in some cases, someone's attitude is that they deserved it, or were asking for it. In about half of all cases, alcohol is involved, with either the victim, perpetrator, or both. In this kind of case, there is this underlying belief that the woman deserved it because she was doing something foolish.

"With men, it is even harder. Even fewer report it, and a sad amount of people believe it doesn't happen, although I know for a fact that it does. For those same reasons, and the thought that men should keep all their difficulties to themselves, it becomes even harder. It is estimated that about 1 out of 10 rape victims are men, and some estimates put it even higher.

"Look, I can refer you to some counselors if you think it will help. And we'll have a police car patrol your house whenever possible. I know it's not perfect, and I wish I had the power to do more."

"Thank you, but I don't want to go to a therapist. Besides, I'm hurt, not crazy; I'm not going." That being said, Maddie decided to leave, reassured and worried at the same time. _Okay, I've got a gun hidden inside my room. If all else fails, if he attacks me again, I can kill him. I don't want to take a life, not even his, but it may come down to that._

X X X X X X X X X X

Vlad slowly opened his eyes and took in his new surroundings. He was feeling out of it, and in a lot of pain. He could barely see anything, since his eyes were swollen shut. Images of the attack flashed through his mind, and he struggled weakly before someone put a restraining hand on his arm.

"You're safe now; no one's going to hurt you here." Mrs. Masters promised.

"How…how long have I been out?" Vlad wondered.

"A few hours; we were worried about you." Mr. Masters admitted. "From what the doctor told me, you have 6 broken bones in your left hand, a broken nose, and three stab wounds. There were always be some scar tissue there, and your eyes may never recover completely. I'm not grateful that you won't be blind, since they were giving me information I couldn't fully understand, but they were worried about it."

"Where are…Jack…and Maddie?" Vlad asked weakly.

"That's not important right now; do you know who attacked you?" his father asked.

"I…didn't get a good look at them, though one of their names was Tyler, I think." Vlad responded. "It all happened so fast. I tried to get away from them, but they were…too strong. I just bumped into one of them on the street, and the next thing I knew…"

"Okay, that's enough." Someone cut in. It sounded like the doctor, although Vlad couldn't see well enough to tell. "He's been through a major ordeal and needs his rest. We'll be able to let him out in a week or so, ok?"

"Thank you, doctor." Mrs. Masters nodded. "If you need us, son, we'll be right outside. Just try and get some sleep." Both of his parents walked out, and Vlad was left to his own thoughts.

_Who were those people? _Vlad thought. _God, this whole situation just keeps getting worse. To top it off, I may end up spending a long time in prison. _

He weakly reached for the remote, but didn't have the strength. Vlad was heavily doped up on morphine, and could vaguely see the IV attached to his arm. Just as he was about to doze off, he saw someone else in the room. "How…how did you get in here?" He didn't hear or see the door open.

"Good to see you, Mr. Masters." the voice stated.

"Not you…not you." Vlad managed to speak.

X X X X X X X X X X

Yeah, I do seem to be very cruel. Hey, it's what keeps people interested in this story. This is already a longer story then I had planned for; the outline was 5 chapters with an epilogue. However, this story is nearing its end.

As always, please read and especially review. It doesn't take up much of your time and I greatly appreciate it.


	7. Darkness

Glad to see that my story is popular. However, all things must come to an end.

X X X X X X X X X X

"Well, it looks like Vlad will recover; that's good." Jack sighed, rubbing his temples. "Do you know who did this?"

Maddie debated with herself. Even after what they did to Vlad, they were still her brothers, and she had a lot of difficulty bringing herself to tell the truth. However, she knew it wasn't something she would be able to hide for very long. "It was…Adrian and Tyler."

"Your brothers? Why would they do something like that?" Jack asked. "They seemed like good people to me."

"Think about it; they still think Vlad raped me, and they decided to pay him back." Maddie snapped. She shuddered internally at the memories, but forced herself to stay together. "I told them who it was, but I don't think they believed me. Far as they're concerned, I'm talking out of fear that Vlad will do something to me again."

"How bad off is he? I haven't had the strength to go see him."

"He's got several broken bones, and lost a lost of blood. For a while, I thought he was going to die. I really don't want to think this, but…I think they intended to kill him."

"Well, I'd better go there and look after him, then."

"Look, maybe…you shouldn't. His parents are there, and they're not happy. They were screaming at me, calling me a whore and a liar. They blame me for everything that's happened." After saying that, she broke down in tears. _Damn it, why can't I stop crying? _

"None of this is your fault, Maddie. Don't think that, even for a second."

"I can't be there for Vlad when I'm barely holding myself together. I can't convince my brothers that they're wrong. Hell, the only thing I've managed to get is get the charges dropped, but it probably won't matter. His life is over…and so is mine. Who's going to want to touch me after all this?"

"Maddie, I admit, some people will always be fools, but they mean nothing. You have me, and you have V-man!"

"Thank you, but it doesn't matter. Before all this, I had emotions; I was attracted to other guys, and some of me even wanted to sleep with them. When I see them now, all I can feel is fear. I have a hard time even being around you two, let alone anyone else! I'm never going to be able to forget this. They say you never forget your first, which means I'll be able to have a normal life."

"Look, Maddie, I don't know much about all this; research is Vlad's expertise. But no matter what happens, Vlad and I will stay with you, ok? You're our best friends, and that's what friends do. They stick by one another."

"No, Jack, they usually don't. If you're lucky, you can find someone, but most of the time, you end up hurt. Just see what's happened to Vlad. It's not really something a sociable person can understand." _And that's probably why Vlad's helped me more; he can understand what it's like to feel reviled and alone, especially after the past few months._

Before everything had happened, she had developed feeling for Vlad Masters. She was even considering telling him, but now…she shook her head. She wasn't able to handle any kind of romantic relationship. Lost in their thoughts, neither of them noticed the figure following them.

X X X X X X X X X X

"Damn it…why the hell are you here?" Vlad moaned. It had been a couple of days since he had first seen him, and he thought it was a morphine-induced haze. However, when it happened again and again, he started to think it was real after all.

"Partly to see how you were doing, and partly because I want to make sure you know something." Morand smirked. "I see your temper hasn't improved since our last encounter."

"Sigh, I was hoping this was a figment of my imagination." Vlad snapped. "What the hell do you want?"

"A more important question is: what do you want? I've been watching you for some time, Masters, and we are impressed at your resilience. It is a rather cruel world, isn't it?" Even as weak as he was, Vlad had no trouble seeing his smile.

"You've been watching me?"

"Yes, we have. I have some information that you might find interesting."

"Look, I don't give a damn why you're here."

"Oh, I think you do. You see, this concerns your friend Maddie."

"What is it?" Vlad gasped in fear. "Has something happened to her again?"

"You should be happy, Mr. Masters. The charges against you have been dismissed. It looks like your slut of a friend Maddie has finally come up with the courage to tell the truth; she's not quite as weak as I thought."

"Don't call her that; she's the strongest person I know!"

"You can't do anything to stop me, Masters. You are helpless, as is she. She was weak; she begged, pleaded. Too pathetic to fight back!"

"Shut up!" With more strength than his fragile state would attest, Vlad got out of the bed and slugged him across the face. It was a weak punch, and caused little pain, but the fact that he was capable of that even after everything that happened meant he was stronger than he appeared at first glance.

"Very good, Mr. Masters; you're stronger than we expected. Still, you'll have to a lot better than that if you want to save her."

"What are you talking about?"

"My employers have eyes everywhere, and from the look of things, your…love interest does not have much time."

"What's going to happen?" Vlad wasn't about to let anything happen, even though his blood had still not been fully replenished and his hand was nowhere close to healed.

"Let's say she's going to relive her nightmare a second time. You see, he was not happy when she told the truth, and you have very little time."

"No, I've got to do something!" Vlad leaned against the wall for support and slowly started walking out of the room.

"Do you want to help her, Masters? Does she matter that much to you? After all, if he rapes her again, she'll need you to be there for her."

"Shut up; I won't let it happen! One more remark about her, and I'll kill you!" Vlad was now serious about what he said. Ignoring his pain, ignoring his weakness, he got out of the room. However, he didn't manage more than 10 feet before he was stopped by a nurse. "No, please, I've got to help!"

"Mr. Masters, you need to lie down and rest." The nurse told him. "If you keep this up, it'll take longer for you to recover."

"Please, let me go!" Vlad struggled. "He's going to get her; help me!" But Morand had disappeared from sight, as if he was never there. Vlad fought her grip, until another nurse ran into the room. He was given a sedative, but still tried to get away.

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was "My employers were right about you, Masters."

X X X X X X X X X X

"I'm sorry, Jack; I can't turn them in." Maddie sighed. "They're still my brothers and I love them."

"Are you really willing to let them get away with assault, maybe even attempted murder?" Jack replied in shock. "They'll go after him again; I'm sure of it. If you can't convince them he's innocent, you have no choice!"

"Damn it, Jack, don't you think I know that?" Maddie cried. "It's ripping me apart inside. Whatever I choose, I won't be able to live with myself."

"You know what the right thing to do is; you just don't want to admit it."

"I know, but it kills me to have to do something like this. God, both of them are some of the most stubborn people I know. Look, I have to get home."

"I'll walk you there; you shouldn't be out alone. Hopefully, your brothers won't come after me too." Maddie felt like snapping at him, but knew Jack was right.

"I'll try one last time to talk to them. If they won't listen, I'll turn them in. What choice do I really have? Makes me wonder how much more I can take before I become catatonic."

"Well, let's find out, Maddie." Someone said behind her. They turned around and saw Ken leaning against a tree. Jack growled furiously and started towards him.

"What do you want, you son of a bitch?" Jack demanded.

"I told you to keep your whoring mouth shut, but you didn't listen to me." Ken laughed. "Well, there's only one thing to do now." Jack charged towards him, intending to rip him apart, but Ken swung a heavy stick into the side of his head. He fell to the ground, moaning in pain. He hit him a few more times before turning his attention to Maddie. "This should be quite fun."

"Why are you doing this?" Maddie tried to sound angry, but it came out as a whimper.

"Because I enjoy the power, the control." Ken smirked. "And I have it over you; I always will. No matter how much time passes, you're going to remember that experience. People never forget their first, remember? And you'll never forget, no matter how much you want to, especially after today's reminder."

Maddie's mind froze in terror. Ken smirked and walked towards her. She punched him in the gut, and ran for her life. If she was thinking logically, she would never have left Jack behind, but logic disappeared in the face of enduring her nightmare once again.

She ran through the streets, frequently looking back to see where he was. Unfortunately, she ran into a street pole. Dazed, she tried to get up, but Ken grabbed her and dragged her behind a dumpster, backhanding her across the face.

"Shut up, whore!" He screamed, tearing her shirt off. Maddie stared at him, trying to get her limbs to move, but it was like they were completely frozen. Once her bra was off, though, she managed to have enough strength to knee him in the groin and get to her feet.

Careless that she was naked from the waist down, she continued running, now screaming for help. However, it was close to midnight and nobody was out. She grabbed a shirt from a nearby clothesline, and put it over herself.

Oh, god, what about Jack?" Maddie muttered. "I can't believe I forgot about him; idiot!" Reluctantly, she ran back to the scene, her heart pounding. She was exhausted by the time she got there, the adrenaline wearing off, which meant she felt a massive headache.

She saw Jack slowly getting to his feet, rubbing his temple. "Oh, god, I feel dizzy." He moaned, then fell onto his knees. "I hope Maddie got away from him."

"Jack, are you all right?" Maddie rushed to his side. "Figures; the one day I forget to bring that gun, and he goes after me. Come on, I'll help you up." It wasn't easy, since she wasn't in good shape herself, added to the fact that Jack weighed over twice as much as she did. However, she finally dragged him to her feet.

It was not easy to get to their respective homes, although Jack was starting to recover by the end of it. Maddie's best guess was that he suffered a concussion. "Wait a minute; you're wearing a different shirt?" Jack finally realized. "No, please don't tell me he…"

"No, he didn't; I managed to fight him off." She replied, still nervous about being touched, and her new experience made all the wounds fresh. _Remember, this is Jack, not Ken. _"He won't be walking for a while."

"Then we'd better get you home, and this time, your brothers had better listen. They try going after Vlad again, I'll be very furious with them. Ow, this is going to be a slow journey."

X X X X X X X X X X

"Mr. Masters, can you hear me?" Vlad heard a voice say. From the sounds of it, it looked like it was being repeated over and over. He looked around and saw his parents, the doctors, and Morand.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed angrily.

"We're looking after you; that was a very foolish thing to do." The doctor told him, staring sternly. "We'll have to look after you for a couple more days. You caused a small puncture in your vein. Thankfully, it wasn't serious."

"Not you, him!" Vlad exclaimed weakly, pointing at Morand.

"What are you talking about, son?" Vlad's father asked. "There's no one there; you're just imagining things."

"He's right there!"

"Look, calm down." Mrs. Masters told him. "You need to rest."

"She's in danger…please."

"Just try and get some sleep, Vlad. We'll talk in the morning once the sedatives wear off." All of them left the room, except for Morand, who was smirking silently.

"Well, now that we have some privacy, I have some new developments from my employers."

"Is this a…game to you? Why are you torturing me?" Vlad moaned, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"I don't play games, Mr. Masters, and I have no intention of torturing you. As for why I'm here, my employers have a gift for you." He held out a small package in front of him.

"What…what is it?"

"You'll find out for yourself. Let's just say it's a gift…from friends you don't know you have." Vlad moved towards the box, and struggled with the wrapping. Even with the sedatives wearing off, his hands were still clumsy. After a couple of minutes, he finally tore it off and opened the box. What he saw shocked him, even after everything he saw in the past few months.

There were several strange chunks of various sizes. When Vlad picked one of them up, he found that they were pieces of flesh. There was dried and damp blood all over them, and when he felt it, some of the blood got onto his fingers. He looked towards Morand, who was just standing there with his hands behind his back.

"Well, let's just say your annoyance had a little accident while pursuing her. Needless to say, he wasn't able to complete his planned revenge. Ah, no thank you? I never expected you to be so ungrateful about this."

"Sorry; I'm still in a bit of shock. You managed to save her? How?"

"My employers have connections everywhere, and I asked them for a favor. Of course, she doesn't realize any of this, and I expect you to keep it that way."

"Why?"

"Simple: because this is between us, and I highly doubt she would believe a word you say about me. I know how to hide in the shadows, Mr. Masters. Besides, I think she has some additional trauma to cry on your shoulder about."

"Don't insult her, not ever!" Morand merely chuckled softly.

"In any case, we saved her and I'm sure you'll be able to take it from there." He turned around and started walking out.

"Wait! How can I ever thank you for this?"

Morand smiled unpleasantly. "We will find you, Masters, when the time is right. And I suggest you keep this little gift from the others here. They might get the wrong impression." He walked out of the room, leaving Vlad to his thoughts.

_What does he mean by that? _He wondered. _And why couldn't anyone else see him but me? God, all of this is confusing. I'm tired, I'm really tired. I'll try figuring this out in the morning._

But it was a long time before he was able to get to sleep.

X X X X X X X X X X

Can't believe it's almost over. Just one more chapter, and I should be done with it. Admittedly, this was not an easy story to write, but I'm glad to see that you have enjoyed it.


	8. End of the Beginning

All right, finally I get to the last chapter. Sorry if it seems a little rushed, but I want to get this in and have the story done, so none of you will be mad at my lack of updates.

The main part of the ordeal was over; now the trio just had to try and heal themselves after everything that happened.

It didn't take very long for Jack to bounce back. He suffered the least and was naturally an optimistic person. Within a couple of weeks, he was back to goofing around, flirting with female classmates, and joking around with the sports teams.

Vlad and Maddie, on the other hand, had a lot more to recover from. Many of their nights were spent with Maddie crying on his shoulder while Vlad wrapped his arms around her, comforting her to the best of his ability.

On a couple of occasions, he broke down crying as well. Being accused of raping Maddie, beaten half to death by her brothers, little to no support from his parents… Vlad reached his breaking point. He was taught from a young age not to show his feelings, because emotions were a weakness and if you allowed them to show, they would be used against you.

Despite what he had been taught, though, he ended up crying in Maddie's lap, his arms wrapped around her waist. Vlad wasn't able to do this in front of Jack, even though he knew his friend would not think less of him for it.

Both of their grades went down through this experience, but eventually, they managed to heal themselves. At time, Jack felt like he was a third wheel, but knew both of them had been through an unpleasant experience. He helped them when he can, in between his other activities.

Ken was never punished, at least not under the law. Whenever he saw Maddie, he gave her a vicious smirk. Over time, she felt less fear, although it never went away completely. Vlad glared death towards him, daring him to do something more. He made sure those "accidents" in P.E. continued, wanting to do what he could to make him suffer.

Near the end of the semester, there were rumors of another girl who had been assaulted in the same way by him. Maddie talked to her, knowing that she could understand better than most. Vlad and Jack stayed away, knowing that the sight of a male would do nothing to help her.

"Look, Kelly, it wasn't your fault." Maddie tried to reassure. "It was him who decided to do that to you. You're not to blame!"

"Yes, I am!" She cried, unable to have anyone touch her. "I was stupid enough to go to that party and drink myself half to death. He's right; I deserved it."

"No, don't ever say that." Maddie forced herself to stay calm and keep herself together. "Look, you've got to tell someone about this." Kelly stayed quiet, crying and curling into a ball. Vlad and Jack watched in the background, not sure what to do. They just hoped that she would be able to heal.

_Never imagined I would actually feel sorry for her. _Vlad still had bitter memories of her playing with his emotions for weeks, simply because she thought it was amusing. He learned of it when he overheard her bragging about it to her friends. Still, even she didn't deserve to be raped the way she had.

While Maddie did everything she could to help her, it came to nothing. Kelly committed suicide two days afterwards. Jack and Vlad shared some time together, admitting that could have easily been Maddie if things had went just slightly differently.

They went to the funeral, Jack and Maddie dragging Vlad along with them. True, he had sympathy for her, but it didn't mean he liked her. They listened to people drone on about how wonderful she is and how much she meant to them. Vlad felt like ranting about what she had done to him in the past, but knew it was hardly the time for such a thing.

He wandered off before it was over, not wanting to face the people. "Hello, Masters." a voice said behind him.

"Damn it, Morand, just leave me alone!" Vlad demanded. "I'm tired of your little head games! Just go away!" Vlad never did figure out what the man wanted, or why he had seemed to take an interest in him.

"What, I can't simply say hello? You should show some respect to me, Masters. My employers have taken an interest in you, but things could always happen."

"What the hell do you want?"

"Ah, the only question in our lives that truly matters. What do you want, Masters?"

"Right now, I want you to go away and leave me alone."

"Oh, I think you're going to want me around. You see, my employers can make great things happen for you."

"Drop dead; I don't want to see you again!"

"Fair enough; if you change your mind, all you have to do is ask for me. I think in time, you'll come to appreciate a more… cordial relationship between us." Vlad stomped off, tired of games, tired of tricks.

As for Maddie's brothers, they took a long time to accept that Vlad was not responsible for what happened to Maddie, and indeed, was invaluable in helping her recover. They followed him home one day and held him up against the wall. "Listen, Vlad, let me make this perfectly clear." Tyler told him, a knife against Vlad's stomach. "If she even hints that you hurt her, I'll slash your throat, understand?"

His parents were little better. "Look, son, don't you understand this?" His father asked. "If you keep staying with them, you're just going to get hurt."

"Dad, they're the best friends I have." Vlad argued. Lately, he had gotten bolder in defying them, not wanting to be under his parent's thumb any longer.

"Friends? That slut you hang out with falsely accused you of rape. You were arrested, arraigned, and beaten half to death by her idiot brothers! How can you possibly defend her after that?"

"Look, she was terrified of him; he would have killed her if she told, and she risked it to tell the truth anyway! They're loyal to me and I'm loyal to them!"

"A fat idiot and a slut; you should choose better friends. They are nothing, and they will not return your misguided loyalty!"

"Shut the hell up! What do you know about loyalty? You've never been there for me when I needed you! Where were you when I was being bullied in school day after day? Oh, right, you were working and couldn't be bothered to see how your only child was doing!"

"Look, son, things get very busy a lot of the time, and…"

"That's no excuse! Where were you when I was sick or when I was hurt? You didn't give a damn! You just told me to suck it up and shoved me off to school because it was too much bother to deal with me! You even screamed at me whenever you say me crying, telling me I was weak!"

"Vlad, it's unfortunate, but you have to hide your emotions or others will use them against you."

Vlad had been wanting to say this to his parents for years. "Did you ever stop to consider how that affected me?! You forced me to carry all the pain inside!"

"I'm sorry, Vlad, but I did what I had to. I don't want the same thing to happen to you. I don't trust your friends, and I don't want you to get hurt again. I've seen it happen too many times."

"Forget it; I don't want to hear your excuses anymore!" he stomped out of the house, ignoring his dad's demands to come back. Vlad was tired of everything that had happened, especially since he got little support from his parents. Jack lended a sympathetic ear, but he couldn't truly understand how Vlad felt the way Maddie did.

In their own way, his parents loved him, but they just did not know how to raise a child. He was so lost in his thoughts that he bumped into Maddie, who was in a similar state of mind. She gasped and raised her hands before she realized who it was. "Oh, sorry, Vlad." Maddie apologized.

"Hey, Maddie, can I talk to you privately?" Vlad asked. "There's something important I need to tell you." He bowed his head slightly, worrying her.

"Sure, Vlad, but it'll have to be quick." Maddie replied. "My karate class starts in half an hour." She was determined not to let any such thing happen to her again, so she began learning self-defense. Vlad had watched her a couple of times, marveling at how beautiful she was.

"So are you enjoying the class?"

"Yeah, I'm learning a lot. I think given enough time, I can become a real terror. I'm learning faster than most other people in my level." Part of it was her intelligence and natural agility, but the other part was simple fear. Maddie remembered her helplessness and would avoid it, no matter what it took.

"I've seen you; you're learning so quick, it's scary. You mind teaching me any of it?"

"Sure, Vlad, though you and Jack could just join the class. It'd be nice to see someone I know in the dojo."

"Look, I need to tell you this before I completely lose my nerve. I like you… as more than a friend."

"Wow, Vlad, I don't really know what to say. I kind of like you too."

"So will you go out with me?"

"Sorry, Vlad, I can't, not now. I'm just not ready for another relationship after everything that's happened. You mean so much to me, and I'm honored, but the wounds are too fresh."

"All right, I can understand. Who would be interested in me, anyway?" He turned his head away from her.

"No, don't say that, Vlad! Look, you're a wonderful guy, and I'm flattered. Maybe someday… we can be together. Just give me some time, please."

"I'll be waiting for you, Maddie." She kissed him softly on the lips, hugging him warmly.

"I'm sorry, Vlad, I really am."

X X X X X X X X X X

**4 Years Later: **

"You're serious, Jack?" Vlad laughed. "You think that ghost portal is going to work? I know we've gone over the theory many times, but it's still hard to believe it's actually possible."

"Just think of it, V-man: we'll be the first scientists to break the doorway into an alternate reality!" Jack exclaimed, excited.

"It'll all set up, right?" Maddie wondered; Jack nodded. "Well, we'll do it this afternoon, then. Hey, Jack, you're really trying to join a frat house?" Maddie had pretty much healed from her experience, even though nightmares still popped up on occasion. Both Jack and Vlad had bruises from where she hit them in her dreams. Still, she was able to live a mostly normal life, or as much as was possible being a ghost researcher.

"Hey, it sounds fun to me!" Jack exclaimed. "I still have the initiation to finish; I'm still sore from last night!"

"Least I was smart enough to stay well away from that." Vlad chuckled. "Can't feel much sympathy for you." His eyes turned towards Maddie. Over the past couple of years, his crush on her had not faded, but rather, turned into love. He didn't know if she felt the same way, though; actually, he was pretty sure she didn't.

Over time, slowly, almost imperceptibly, he began to feel anger towards Jack. Even he could tell Maddie was interested in him. He wanted to tell one of them how he truly felt, but did not have the courage for it. Besides, for the most part, he was still fond of his best friend.

All of them were nervous about their big discovery. They were frequently ridiculed because of it, although it didn't stop people from asking Maddie out. However, Vlad's vicious tongue meant they didn't stay around for very long.

After the experiment, Vlad intended to ask her out. He had been wanting to date her for years, and he hoped that now she was ready for a romantic relationship. He was well aware Jack liked her as well, but couldn't quite being himself to tell him. He wasn't sure if Jack would step aside or not. True, Jack had a crush, but Vlad was in love.

He felt very nervous, knowing he was taking a big chance. Still, Vlad had to do something, or spend the rest of his life wondering. He walked to the lab, where Jack and Maddie were already.

They got to work making the final preparations for the prototype ghost portal. _It's now or never, Masters. _He told himself. "Look, Maddie, there's something I need to tell you." He gulped. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and…"

"Hold on, Vlad, I need to finish something." Maddie interrupted. "Jack, do you have the ecto-purifier?"

"Of course, Maddie!" Jack exclaimed. "Cost us a fortune, but it was worth it!" That was putting it mildly. Just the small amount they had cost thousands. Jack poured it down the hole, hoping it had enough power. He grinned at Maddie, who smiled back.

_Damn it, why does she like him? _Vlad cursed. _I was always the one who helped her when she needed it most. I helped her when her parents were abusing her, when Ken attacked her, when those worthless bitches made her feel like she was nothing! Jack wasn't there for her, so why is she falling for him?_

"I'm telling you, Jack, it's not going to work!" Vlad protested.

"Come on, V-man, of course it will!" Jack exclaimed. "This proto-portal is just what we need to get into the ghost dimension. Just think of what we can learn!" Vlad looked at the portal closer, still wondering if it was even possible.

"Jack, you may want to take a look at this." Maddie warned, but it was too late. Jack activated the portal, a green vortex opening up. Before Vlad could move away, the energy blew up in his face, knocking him to the ground.

He held his face, barely able to see through the pain. Jack and Maddie were horrified, not knowing what to do. Vlad screamed something, but he had no idea what it was. _Oh, no, I'm going to die! _Vlad thought. _How could I possibly have been that stupid? _Maddie's face was the last thing he saw before falling unconscious.

However, what none of them realized was that the portal had been sabotaged. Morand watched in the background, invisible to human eyes. _You wanted powers, Masters; you've got it. _

Well, sorry for the long wait, but my story is finally finished. I chose Maddie because as far as I know, no one has used her as the victim in rape fanfiction. Hopefully, I managed to avoid the clichés, or some of them at least. I've read several such stories, the victim usually being Sam. She allows no one to touch her by Danny, and no one is willing to help but him. It usually ends with the rapist being punished or killed, and the two lovebirds ending up together. I decided on a different victim and a different ending.

Admittedly, my main difficulty was making Vlad's parents human. I wanted to make them distant, but not completely uncaring, giving you a sight into Vlad's personality.

As for who Morand is, and who he's working for… you'll find that out in another story.

As you may have figured out, this answers two questions in the Danny Phantom universe. For one, and the smaller of the two, when she started taking martial arts and why. The bigger one was why she ultimately chose Jack over Vlad and how he ended up as the villain we know now.

Story's over for now, and I hope you enjoyed it. I do intend on making some revisions to this chapter in the future.


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